


Light Treason

by protectginozasquad



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Post-Canon, Treason
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-17 06:26:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4656081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectginozasquad/pseuds/protectginozasquad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Shambala Float, Inspector Tsunemori plans to take Sibyl down. She and Ginoza have been drawing closer and closer for years, so it's only natural that he becomes her partner in crime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning Is A Surrender

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sharpestsatire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharpestsatire/gifts).



> This was a prompt given to me by sharpestsatire on tumblr: a Ginaka fic where they try to take down Sibyl from the inside. This first chapter got really long and way out of hand, and I tried to move the Ginaka scene to chapter two but I just couldn't wait because I want these two to be stupidly in love like right this second.

Akane breathed a deep sigh as she walked from Chief Kasei’s office. As usual, she was filled with a mixture of gratefulness and disgust. 

Grateful, strangely, that she knew about the monster running her society. 

Grateful that she was entrusted with the task of managing the Sibyl System, knowing they would never get inside her head the way they seemed convinced they would. 

Disgusted by that very monster, how it wove itself so seamlessly into Japanese society that all would fall to pieces without it. 

Disgusted that she actively perpetuated something so ugly and manipulative by playing into their hands. 

She had spent the last few hours explaining her actions on Shambala Float to the system. They seemed uninterested in all her criticisms regarding their own handling of the political situation, and instead spent a long time prodding her for answers about her reasons for joining forces with the escaped enforcer Kougami Shinya. 

Somehow, they had accepted her reasoning that early on she had believed Nicholas Wong to be unworthy of trust, and felt the need to escape with Kougami’s terrorist group for her personal safety. 

_“Your own safety, you say?”_ Kasei had said. _“We can’t argue with that. Inspector Shimotsuki, though knowledgable about our true form, is unable to manage the system with your precision. Kougami Shinya, though he cares nothing for Sibyl, would certainly protect you. It was the right decision. You are valuable to us, inspector Tsunemori. You’re dismissed.”_

Kougami had told her to come find him again, but how could she do that with the resources at hand? He must know how impossible it was. 

Since she had seen him, plots for overthrowing the system plagued her mind. She was surprised every morning she woke to find her psycho-pass clear. Each time, the plans grew more real. At first, they had been nebulous and theoretical. Little flaws she saw in the programming, infrastructure that could be exploited. But in the last few weeks, since her return from Shambala Float, she began searching for pieces that would help her succeed. It worried her, how much like Makishima and Kamui she felt herself becoming. 

Her Crime Coefficient never wavered, her psycho-pass was powder blue, but, she suspected, part of the clarity was her ever-present awareness of the need for the Sibyl System. She couldn’t say what color she would turn if she actually found a way for Japan to function without Sibyl, if she fit all the pieces together. 

It was only when she bumped into Ginoza and the reports he was holding flew all across the hallway that she realized she couldn’t handle it on her own anymore. She didn’t realize that she had made up her mind already. 

“Tsunemori?” Ignoring the flying papers, Ginoza looked at her with concern. 

“Ginoza-san, I’m so sorry!” Flustered, she rushed after the reports. 

“It’s okay, here, let me get them.” Ginoza made short work of it, his hands moving quickly to gather the papers. 

“Are you okay? You were in with the chief for a long time.” 

Akane looked up to see his green eyes full of genuine concern. She smiled in spite of her murky thoughts. 

“I’m sorry for running into you,” she put her hand on his arm. “It was just a long meeting, that’s all.” 

Ginoza cocked an eyebrow at her. “It’s not my place to ask, of course, as an enforcer, but if you ever need to unload about the bureaucracy,” he paused, considering. “I remember it well, that’s all.” 

He looked a little sad. Tsunemori tightened her grip on his arm, as if to comfort him, only to meet with the solidness of the metal beneath his suit jacket. She looked up at him apologetically to find his eyes soft. 

“Don’t worry, please.” His voice was gentle. So many things about him were softer, warmer, more natural. It was as though his demotion freed him to be the person he was always meant to be. It came at the cost of his physical freedom, of course. From one freedom to another; from one cage to another. It all depended on your outlook. Nothing was ever simple. 

“Where are you going?” 

“I’m taking reports from Sugo and Hinakawa to Karanomori. It’s not a big errand.” 

“I’ll go with you.” 

It was time to bring her two most trusted confidantes in on the plan - the unshaped, uncertain plan. The plan that made her as much like Makishima Shogo as Kougami.

Ginoza nodded without speaking, and they turned to walk down the hallway. It was comfortable, the way they could walk without needing to fill the air with chatter.

Akane found her thoughts drifting from Sibyl to the feeling of closeness she had with her former partner. He had saved her, in Shambala Float. He had protected her at the drone facility during the Kamui case. He was the one who pulled her away from the burning mansion where she learned of her grandmother’s torture. 

More and more, she found herself moving towards confiding in him. Tired of carrying the burden alone, she wanted Ginoza to know, to understand. Maybe he would forgive his father, Kougami, himself, if he knew. She wouldn’t have to plan all alone anymore. She was burdened by the truth, and burdened by solutions, which had little chance of success. 

But what if it caused his Crime Coefficient to rise even higher? It had been stabilized at 140 for a few years, but wouldn’t knowledge about Sibyl jeopardize him? Surely the system couldn’t reward knowledge of the secret. It was why they killed Kagari, after all. 

“Tsunemori.” 

“Yes, Ginoza-san?” 

“You’re in your head a lot today.” The worry had returned to Ginoza’s eyes as they eased their way into Karanomori’s office. 

“Since when has my silence worried you? We walk like this all the time.”

He sighed, but didn’t push the issue.

Tsunemori knew he was right. It would be easier if he weren’t so perceptive. It was getting harder to withhold the truth from him. They worked so closely together. She considered Ginoza more her partner than Shimotsuki. He was her subordinate in title only. Except when he endangered himself to protect her, but even then he didn’t listen to her orders to leave the field.

He smiled briefly as they walked up to Karanomori’s desk, the office dark and cave-like as always. 

“A million thanks, Ginoza-kun,” the analyst swiveled in her chair to take the papers from him. Her eyes widened and her smile lit up when she saw Tsunemori. 

“Akane-chan! What a pleasant surprise!” 

Tranquility replaced Akane’s anxiety. This was it. With the warmness in Shion’s smile, she could believe, for a moment, that it would work. 

“Hi, Karanomori-san,” Akane moved to the couch and plopped down. She allowed her shoulders to sag and let out a long sigh. These two people didn’t need her to pretend.

“Akane-chan, you look like you could use some coffee.” 

“Yeah, I guess I could.” 

Shion turned to Ginoza. “Well, you heard the lady.” 

“What?” 

“The inspector needs coffee. Isn’t that what enforcers are for?” 

“Shion-san,” Akane had forgotten that Shion didn’t have a coffeemaker in her office. “Ginoza-san doesn’t have to-” 

“No, Tsunemori, it’s all right. I’ll be right back.” 

Ginoza walked out through the whooshing doors and Karanomori sat back in her swivel chair and smiled at Tsunemori. 

“Now, what’s eating you? I saw that you had quite the long meeting with the chief. She’s not giving you trouble, is she?” 

Karanomori was surprisingly perceptive. She hid it beneath a guise of flirtatiousness and nonchalance, but in the end she was more sensitive and compassionate than almost anyone at the ministry of welfare. 

“Shion-san, what do you think of Japan?” 

“Hm? Japan? I’m not exactly entitled to an opinion anymore, am I? I’m a latent criminal, after all.” 

“I think you’re entitled to an opinion.” 

“You always were my favorite inspector,” Shion winked halfheartedly before her lips turned down in an uncharacteristic frown. “You really want my opinion?” 

Akane nodded. 

“It’s fishy, you know? Yayoi told you that lots of the historical records from past times are archived with such high creditial requirements that I doubt even that most of the high-ups have access to them. Doesn’t that seem strange? Old man Masa-san used to talk about history classes from his school days. We don’t have things like that anymore. I’m biased, I know, because the system doesn’t favor me, but I can’t imagine that anything normal is going on there.” 

Karanomori brightened up. “But it’s just an opinion, which apparently you think I’m entitled to. Akane-chan, what’s gotten into you?” 

“What if...” Tsunemori’s voice was quiet. “What if it’s a lie?” She hoped to sound theoretical, hypothetical. 

“Ah, so that’s what it is.” 

“What?” 

“You let on more than you know, although I doubt anyone else notices. Except maybe Ginoza-kun. I think he knows, too.” 

Ginoza picked that moment to walk through the whirring doors, two cups of coffee in hand. He gave one to Akane and the other to Shion before sitting on the couch.

“Sorry, Shion, I can’t remember how you take your coffee.” 

“Oh, I’m not picky,” Shion gave Ginoza a side-long glance as Akane sipped her coffee. “It seems like you know exactly Akane-chan takes hers, though.” 

Akane tried not to notice the slight blush tingeing Ginoza’s cheeks. That was frivolous, a matter for another day. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. 

“Shion-san, do you have a piece of paper I can write on? There are some things I need you to look up for the case reports.” 

“Sure, but can’t you just send me whatever you need on a tablet?” 

Akane’s question hadn’t made much sense, but it wasn’t supposed to.

“I would prefer to do this manually.” 

Shion shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She pulled out a sheet of paper from the printer and handed it to Akane on a clipboard with a pen. 

Akane angled herself on the couch so the clipboard was hidden from the view of the camera in the corner of the room, but also tilted upwards, away from the cameras inside Shion’s computer. It was a difficult maneuver, with Shion and Ginoza staring at her in confusion.

“It’s, um, something new I need you both to look over. I’m sure you’ll have the best opinions on this particular evidence.”

_“Sibyl is not at all what you think, and needs to be stopped. If you are willing, I need help. We also need Ko.”_

“I’m just going to show Ginoza-san first,” she kept her voice level, using the usual tone for case reviewing. 

She motioned for Ginoza to lean in close to her, which he did unquestioningly. She tilted the clipboard toward him, taking great care both to keep it from the cameras and also to seem careless about it. 

It only took a moment. Ginoza's face grew pale, but he maintained his composure. He locked eyes with her and inclined his head ever so slightly, indicating his willingness to help.

“Tsunemori,” he almost whispered. “This case information needs to be reviewed more closely.” He moved away from her and stood up, motioning for Shion to take his place on the touch. “See what you can make of it, Shion.” 

Cigarette in hand, Shion rose from her place and dramatically settled on the couch, her free arm wrapping around Akane. 

“Let me see.” 

Shion seemed less surprised. In fact, Akane could have sworn a smirk crossed her face. She took a deep inhale on her cigarette. 

“May I?” She removed her arm from around Akane’s shoulders, put her cigarette in her mouth, and moved to take the clipboard and pen from Akane. In small, neat letters, she wrote simply: 

_“I will find the elusive enforcer.”_

Akane took the clipboard back and unclipped the paper. She folded it up and put it in her skirt pocket. 

“Thank you for looking into it for me, Shion-san.” Her voice was light, laced with a heaviness only Ginoza would be able to pick up. “When will be a good time for me to come back for the details?” 

“Hmm,” a playful look covered Karanomori’s face, and Akane was grateful for her easy way of pretending. With someone so gracefully deceptive on her side, things might be simpler. At the very least, they would be more lighthearted, if insubordination could ever be lighthearted. 

“Tomorrow. Can we make it a late date? Say, 9:30?” 

Akane nodded. Her chest tightened. It had begun. 

+++

Akane held up her communicator, glancing at Shion, who nodded encouragingly. How Shion had tracked Kougami down she had no idea. With a deep breath, Akane punched the number into the communicator.

_“What is it?”_

_“Kougami-san?”_

_“Oi! Inspector Tsunemori? Is that you?”_

_“Don’t call me inspector.”_

_“How did you find me?”_

_“The short version is that you’re not the only one who can secure a safe communication line. Shion-san is delightfully talented and has had enough of Sibyl.”_

_“I see. What about you? Have you had enough?”_

Kougami understood her so well. She was grateful that she didn’t need to explain herself. 

_“I don’t know, Kougami-san. I do know that I have a plan forming in my mind.”_

_“Oh?”_

_“But I need help. Right now I have Gino and Shion-san on board, but that isn’t enough.”_

_“You’re calling him Gino now? That’s a little familiar, don’t you think?”_

_“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You call him that all the time.”_

No, he wasn’t teasing her. No, she wasn’t being defensive. No, Shion wasn’t snickering in the background. Not at all. She heard Kougami snort from the other end of the line.

 _“Anyway, he’s ready to throw off the shackles already? That didn’t take as long as I thought it would.”_

Akane didn’t feel particularly like talking to Kougami about Ginoza. Maybe it was unfair, but she faulted Kougami in large part for Ginoza’s demotion. 

Masaoka’s violent death had been counted as the main trigger for his skyrocketed Crime Coefficient, and there was no denying how traumatic it was. But what if Kougami had stayed? If he hadn’t killed Makishima, if he hadn’t left his best friend behind, maybe she would still have a real partner. 

_“I suppose. We don’t have much time. Kougami-san, how much do you know about Sibyl?”_

_“Not much more than I did when I left Japan. I know it’s an entity that can barter with individuals, like they tried to do with Makishima. It thinks, makes judgments, and governs just like an oligarchy. Why?”_

_“Let’s just say I’ve got more than an eyeful of what they really are.”_

_“Feel like sharing?”_

She shuddered. 

_“Not now. Suffice it to say they’re disgusting. It’s all wrong. It isn’t justice.”_

_“You can’t overlook a crime, isn’t that what you told me once? If you’re about to dismantle a system, there must be some serious criminal activity happening on the inside. And you said ‘they,’ so the idea of an oligarchy can’t be too far off.”_

Tsunemori laughed. 

_“Say, Kougami-san, did you ever actually quit being a detective?”_

_“Of course. I betrayed you, remember? We should get off the line. Shion’s a pro, but even she can’t hide long conversations forever. Call me again in three days. Make it a different time.”_

_“Okay.”_

_“Goodbye, inspector.”_

_“Don’t call me-”_ but he cut her off before she could chastise him.

Shion snapped her fingers and the dimmed lights turned back on. 

“Don’t come see me tomorrow. Wait for a few days. We need to time this right.” 

+++

Akane shouldn’t be knocking on his door like this. 

He answered in his gym clothes, blinking sleep from his eyes and yawning. His long hair was loose, the usual ponytail absent, bangs hanging messy over his eyes. 

“Tsunemori?” 

“Hi, Ginoza-san.” 

After a moment of quiet, he widened his door. 

“Do you want to come in?” 

She sat with her knees up on his couch, shoes off. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“I just finished the ‘reports’ we talked about yesterday in Shion’s office,” she gave him a furtive glance, trying to be cryptic but explanatory. “I don’t feel like going home.”

“Tsunemori, there aren’t any cameras in the enforcer quarters. Tell me what’s going on.” 

Akane let out a huge sigh of relief. She had been so hyper-vigilant, so secretive about her plans for so long, she had forgotten entirely about the one place Sibyl didn’t watch, the prisoners with purpose, the prisoners with leashes. They weren’t worthy of surveillance. 

“I talked to Kougami-san.” 

“You what?!” Ginoza looked at her with hard eyes, face etched with concern. He scowled and Akane was reminded of times long past, when he had been her senior, reprimanding her foolish closeness with enforcers. It was ironic, really. 

“Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” 

“Ginoza-san...” 

“Like I told you, he’s a common criminal. Don’t concern yourself with him anymore!” 

“Don’t you want some help getting out of here?” She shouldn’t be angry. She wasn’t, really, but she didn’t want to be snapped at. She was worried enough for both of them. 

“Since when has he cared about helping us?” 

“You let him go.” 

Ginoza fell silent. 

When he spoke again his voice was low, calculating. “I never said that.” 

“You didn’t have to.”

A cold pause sat between them. 

Akane had ignored the way their bodies had shifting closer despite the argument. They were frustrated with each other, trying to make a point. That’s why they were leaning in so close. 

Their faces were barely inches from each other. As she met his gaze, she saw that Ginoza’s anger was fading quickly, replaced with confusion, helplessness, softness. 

It was only then that she realized that Ginoza Nobuchika might just care for her. 

That she, Tsunemori Akane, might just care for him.

Before she could stop herself, she closed the gap between their faces, joining their lips together. He sighed into it willingly, uncertain but unhesitating, anger forgotten, unwanted, cast aside like a dirty rag. Akane pushed herself against him, pulling on his shirt, drawing him close. It was sudden, surprising, and yet it felt like the release of something that had long been pent-up. 

Her lips pushed against his hungrily, sloppily. He returned the kisses just as eagerly. Neither of them had much, any, experience, and they were clumsy. His hands found their way around her shoulders. She let go of his shirt and threaded her hands through his long, thick hair, holding onto him as though her life depended on it. So much of her life did depend on him. 

Akane wasn’t sure what she wanted, and she was grateful when the kisses grew long and soft, lingering without pushing. She couldn’t help but notice how unpracticed they were. When their teeth clacked together for the second time, she pulled back, embarrassed. They were both breathing heavily, wide-eyed and shocked. 

Ginoza’s eyes were stormy, full of desire, fear, and something like hope. Releasing his grasp from around her shoulders, he wiped his mouth with the back of his normal hand. It had been messy. He leaned away from her, back heavy against the couch.

“Ginoza-san,” her voice shook. “I didn’t mean, I didn’t come here to...” her words trailed off. Akane hadn’t meant for this to happen.

“No, I should apologize,” he held a hand up. “I should have stopped you.”

He opened his mouth to say more, but she interrupted him by pushing his raised hand aside, pulling him against her roughly, wordlessly begging him for more. She couldn’t stand it. She needed him. All of him. She hadn’t known it until that moment, but it was suddenly clear as crystal. Even Kougami knew. How could she have ignored it for so long? 

With what seemed like an enormous effort, this time he did stop her. He pursed his lips, cupped her cheek with his regular hand, and softly pushed her back, eyes still burning with a desire she could see him trying hard to reign in.

“Don’t call me Ginoza-san if you’re going to kiss me,” his voice, like his touch, like his smile, was gentle. “It’s far too formal.” 

Akane dropped her hands from his hair and nodded jerkily, embarrassed by how easily she had lost control, how unaware she had been, how desperately she needed him. 

“We shouldn’t do this, Akane.” 

It was the first time he had used her given name. It sounded wonderful and natural, and she couldn’t bear to ruin it. She pulled her face away from his hand.

“I’m sorry. I should go.” 

As she moved to stand up, Ginoza caught her arm. 

“No.” A subtle plea had crept into his voice. He looked at her with eyes full of need. “Please. Don’t leave.” 

“But you just said we shouldn’t do this,” lacking resolve to back up her words, she sat down. She wasn’t going anywhere. 

“I never really followed my own advice, did I?” His touch trailed from her arm down to her hand. As he interlaced their fingers, Akane’s heart beat faster.

“I never really followed it either.” 

Ginoza laughed dryly. “I should just stop giving advice altogether. I always told you to stay away from enforcers.” 

“What are we doing?” Akane whispered. 

“Being very, very stupid.” He dropped his gaze from her, but tightened his grip on her hand, voice heavy with concern and conviction. “This is not a good idea.” 

“I don’t think I care.” 

“You are always so reckless.” 

“This isn’t reckless.” 

“Of course it is. I can’t take care of you.” 

“You always take care of me.” 

“I protect you in the field. It’s my job. There’s nothing else I can give you. You need so much more than I can offer you.” 

“You don’t get to decide what I need.” Still his eyes were downcast. “Ginoza. Gino. Look at me.” 

Slowly, he lifted his eyes.

“You called me Gino.”

“You called me Akane.” 

“This is a terrible idea.” 

“I don’t care.” 

Ginoza sighed with resignation. He put his free hand, his metal hand, over his face, hiding half of it. “I can’t believe this.” 

“Can’t believe what?” 

“That I’m holding your hand, that I know about Sibyl, that I’m a fucking enforcer and you’re a fucking inspector, that you are even considering this worst of all possible ideas, this is the worst of all possible ideas, you know that, right?” 

Akane tried for a smile. “No, it isn’t.” 

She turned over his hand in both of hers. Running her thumbs over his palm, she said simply, “This feels very right to me.” 

Ginoza removed his other hand from his face. He opened his palm wide and hummed with pleasure as her fingers ran over it. As quiet as can be, he whispered, “Yes, maybe it does.”


	2. Meticulous Editing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A piece to the puzzle glows faintly in the details of a Division Two report.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a turn I wasn't really expecting, but I'm hopeful. If you want to get ahold of me, is-your-heart-in-the-cards on tumblr is the best place to do so. I edited that weird cryptic message out of the first chapter. It didn't make any sense at all, and now it's much more straightforward. Enjoy!

As the night wore on, Akane and Ginoza sunk further into the couch cushions, Ginoza listening attentively as Akane explained everything to him. She leaned against him, her head on his shoulder, their fingers still interlaced. It made the telling easier, to have the distraction of the his hand on hers, their bodies warm next to each other. 

“So, basically, we live our lives totally and completely dependent on a hidden criminally asymptomatic dictatorship?” 

Akane sighed deeply, exhausted.

“Yeah.” 

“And you’ve known about this since before Kougami left?” 

“Please don’t be angry.” 

“I’m not angry.” He was silent for a moment. 

“I just... I believed in it all for so long,” when his voice came again, it was strained, like he was off in the distance calling back to her softly. 

“We all did,” Akane squeezed his hand, as if to convey an understanding that she knew she didn’t have. She never believed in it the way he had. 

“You less than me. You know that.” 

“It’s okay, Gino.” She tilted her head up to meet his eyes. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but the soft expression surprised her.

He took a deep breath. “You should go home.” 

Akane didn’t want to leave, and she made no indication that she would stand up. 

“Akane, we have work tomorrow. You need to sleep.”

He was right. She groaned. 

“Okay.” 

Even still, he was the first to stand up from the couch, her reluctance was so strong. He pulled her up with both hands. 

The electricity buzzing between them hadn’t lessened one bit. Ginoza walked Akane to the door of his quarters, their hands still tightly wrapped in one another’s. He turned to face her, took her free hand in his prosthetic, gripping both in a strong but gentle way, and looked at her straight in the eye.

“I still don’t think this is a good idea. You need to be absolutely sure. I don’t need your pity or your charity, and you don’t need to be held back.” 

“No one’s holding me back,” her voice was firm.

He sighed. “You’re hopeless.”

She smiled. “Maybe.” 

“At any rate, no one should know.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Akane said with a tinge of sadness. She had no reservations about Ginoza, and she would gladly tell the world her feelings about him if she could. This was exactly the kind of thing she was fed up with Sibyl for. 

But with their new-found rebellion still surfacing, it would be dangerous for Sibyl to have any leverage at all against her. Relationships between enforcers and inspectors were tolerated, but never recommended and always frowned upon. Those who did it did so quietly. They would have to play along, buy into the farce, play nice for just a little bit longer.

Ginoza shifted awkwardly on his feet, as if unsure how to proceed next. Akane would have aided him by taking some initiative, but the mixed look of confusion on his face was something she wanted to savor. Perhaps it was a little mean, but uncertainty played in his green eyes well. 

Finally, he dropped their interlaced fingers and gently placed his hands on her face. He pulled her close and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. He learned back and smiled at her, his cheeks flushed slightly and a smile playing on his lips.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Goodnight, then.” Akane ducked out the door, every fiber of her aching as she left him. 

It was well past midnight, and Tokyo, for all of its glowing lights, seemed to be sleeping, in the muted yet dazzling way that only a city can. As the nighttime hours teased their way into the earliest hints of morning, Akane wondered at how long whatever this was had been building between her and Ginoza. 

In a way, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. If one was to consider it logically, the two of them had been orbiting closer and closer to each other from the beginning. They had seen the people they loved pass in front of them like fleeting shadows, leaving nothing behind but traces of memories. The only way to honor the past, the lost, was to remember them, and Ginoza and Akane needed each other if they were to remember it all. 

It was a painful binding, the curse that life is sometimes measured only by suffering; and yet, they shared these murky seas, and the storms that sometimes came with them. 

Even logic comes to an end, though. She reflected on their kiss, blushing slightly alone in her car simply at the thought of it. It was born out of frustration, a disagreement, the only disagreement they ever had, really: her safety, her recklessness. They had kissed as though it would erase danger from their vocabularies, from their world. But most responses to danger are not successful, are clumsy and frantic, just like that first kiss. 

She allowed these thoughts to overwhelm her, the butterflies to rise in her stomach and the knots in her chest to tighten as she parked her car, unlocked her door. Her new living space was calm and quiet. 

Akane lit a cigarette as she ordered the automated system to make her a late night cup of tea. It was the first time she had ever felt guilty for it. Surely Ginoza couldn’t fault her for the way Kougami permeated her thoughts. She and Kougami were kindred spirits, but she and Ginoza were knit together, closer than she and Kougami had ever been. 

As the cigarette burned on her coffee table, she held it the teacup to her hands. Another most pressing matter wormed its way into her: a true uprising, a true rebellion. She didn’t bother checking her hue. Somehow she knew that in the morning, she would awake to a powder blue reading, as always. 

She should feel fortunate to be favored by the system. She was safe. 

Instead, it sickened her. A part of her, gnawing in the back of her skull, couldn’t help but wonder if it would be satisfying to watch her Crime Coefficient skyrocket, if she could displease the system, spit at it in defiance as it called her a criminal. 

That would never happen. Whether born out of clear genetics or some ridiculous fluke, her clear psycho-pass was her greatest strength. She couldn’t control it at will, like Makishima Shogo. Perhaps her sense of justice made Tsunemori Akane like Sibyl. Perhaps she was cut from the same cloth as the monsters of the system. She shuddered.

If it was the case, so be it. She would use their favoritism against them. She would burn them to the ground with their justice. 

Her teacup empty, the cigarette turned to ash, she laid out on her crescent-shaped couch. She found it easiest to sleep here, perhaps because she felt she could get up, run, move, at any time. Shambala had put her on guard: her fleeting encounter with war showed her how unprepared for a fight she was. Sleeping on the couch was a small testament to her effort to stronger, better, ready for anything.

She drifted off, possibilities scattering like dandelion seeds throughout her sleepy mind. 

Her dreams were vague, blurred around the edges. In them Sibyl’s voice stayed with her, despite having no dominator in her hand, saying nothing of importance, but carrying a conversation throughout the dream. Kougami’s bruised face smirked at her, explosions were muffled in the distance. In a moment of clarity, she found Ginoza’s back to her. She realized that she crouched close behind him. In the last bit of the dream, he turned his face back to her, green eyes wide with fear. Sibyl’s voice echoed a cruel laugh inside her head, and the scene was gone.

She woke with a start to her alarm. The automated system read her the date, time, and her psycho-pass reading. Sure enough, powder blue. 

+++

There had been few cases that required field work in the last few weeks. Most of Akane’s days had been sent reviewing reports. Divisions two and three had undergone such change in the last few years, that both inspectors and enforcers in the teams were relatively inexperienced. As the unit chief of Division One, when she had downtime, Kasei had assigned Akane the duty of proofing and discussing reports with the other two divisions. 

Inspector Mika Shimotsuki was growing more and more confident in her position. Akane harbored great respect for her junior inspector, a respect which was sometimes returned, often not. 

Akane could understand Mika’s harsh way with enforcers and her by-the-book approach. In the end, Mika was a reasonable junior, who usually yielded in cases of sharp disagreement. They simply went about their jobs in different ways. 

Akane remembered the day she realized that Mika too had come to know the true nature of Sibyl. It had been a difficult case. A string of robberies, committed by a young woman who was struggling to make ends meet for her young children. 

Division one hadn’t needed to split up, and both Akane and Mika ended up cornering her. Akane had gasped in surprise when she pointed the dominator at the woman and found her Crime Coefficient to be 302. Before she could order her to stop, Mika had fired. They were far enough back that only a few splatters of blood made it to Akane’s MWPSB jacket. 

“Inspector Shimotsuki!” Akane tried to control her angry tone, to no avail. “She could have been-” 

“Senpai, leave it alone.” 

“What?” 

“They know what they’re doing,” was Mika’s response. Her eyes widened slightly, as though surprised at her own statement. Before Akane could ask anything else, Mika had turned around sharply and walked away tersely. 

Since that day, Akane had allowed Mika to handle entire cases on her own. The young inspector was a full-fledged, experienced detective, and, if Sibyl had been willing to show itself to her, they trusted her, and Akane, too, would respect their decision to leave her in charge. 

+++

Akane poured a cup of coffee before settling into her desk for the morning. Mika was out with Sugo and Yayoi, making typical rounds in some of the abolition blocks where scanners were mostly absent. From time to time the Ministry of Welfare sent inspectors and enforcers to check Crime Coefficients and make sure no gangs had banded together. It was less dangerous than it sounded, but was never anyone’s favorite duty. It was, though, a little more interesting than writing reports, so Akane had let Mika take it on. 

A soft whooshing sounded behind her, and she turned to see a tall, dark-haired figure, carrying his own cup of coffee, looking sleepy but not unhappy. 

“Good morning, Ginoza-san.” 

He smiled at her softly. “Good morning, Tsunemori.” 

As the hours wore on, Akane felt restlessness tugging at her mind. With report after report to go over and little else to distract herself, she began to run scenarios through her head, of how she could ensure Sibyl’s demise. 

The day passed slowly, Ginoza chipping away at reports alongside her. Strictly speaking, Akane’s name went on the file as proofreader, but Ginoza was just as capable, and, as long as Mika wasn’t in the office, there was no harm letting him work through them with her. It halved the work, gave him something to do, and, more importantly, allowed them to sit and be together. 

The report she was proofreading had been written by Division Two’s newest inspector, a young man who had come straight from the academy. Despite his aptitude, he had been showing difficulty adapting to the toll that working with latent criminals took on him. Akane thought back on Ginoza’s old outlook when he was still her partner, how exhausted he had been all of their beginning time together. It must be wearying to live in fear or hatred, or both, of your coworkers. 

Although it was near the end of the shift, and she had been reading all day, something in one of the reports caught her eye: 

_“A problem briefly arose during the subduing of the aforementioned criminal when two enforcers claimed to have differing numbers on their dominators. In their reports, which are quoted below, Chips 1 claimed their dominator to have read the Crime Coefficient in question as 198.3, while Chips 2 claimed that their dominator read 321.2. The two dominators allegedly activated both the Non-Lethal Paralyzer and Lethal Eliminator modes, respectively.”_

Akane wondered if this could possibly be true. 

“Tsunemori?” 

She had been so wrapped up in the report that she hadn’t noticed Ginoza’s eyes trained on her. She looked up and met his gaze.

“What’s wrong?” Concern, as usual, was etched in his furrowed brow. 

“Oh, I don’t think it’s anything important.” She said this without conviction, because it seemed like it could be. 

“Are you sure?” 

“I just need to finish reading this report.” She turned her attention back to the document.

_“By the time Balto 1 arrived, the pursued criminal had backed himself against a wall, and Balto 1’s dominator confirmed a 321.2 Crime Coefficient. Enforcement was performed and the case has been closed."_

_"I would like to bring the discrepancy to the Chief’s attention because Chips 1 was outraged by Balto 1’s lethal enforcement, as he claimed to be convinced that the criminal could have been rehabilitated. The word of latent criminals is not to be trusted, and Chips 1 talked back to his inspector in an inappropriate way. By way of formality, I must request maintenance on the dominators in question, although I doubt anything will come of it. As an inspector, I am assured that there are never discrepancies with the eyes of Sibyl. I would also like to request additional mandatory therapy for the enforcer designated as Chips 1.”_

She sat back and tried to envision the situation. If there had been a real discrepancy, however fleeting, between the dominators, if two different consensuses had been reached, was it possible that Sibyl could be divided? She had seen, firsthand, how the system could manipulate Psycho-Passes at will. She felt sick as she remembered the day Ginoza almost pulled the trigger on Kougami. 

But, for the first time, she realized that some part of Sibyl must have seen Kougami as not a danger, if she was able to paralyze him. She had never thought of it before, but if all of Sibyl had set themselves against Kougami, wouldn’t her dominator have read a Crime Coefficient above 300 as well? 

“Ginoza-san, can you read over this report for me?” 

He nodded quizzically and stood up. He set his coffee down on her desk, and bent to look at the report. He was leaning a little closer than seemed strictly necessary, and Akane was momentarily overcome with affection as heat radiated from him. Before he commenced reading, he flicked his eyes in her direction. 

“Am I looking for anything in particular, inspector?” Akane could swear there was a playfulness in his tone, the way his eyebrows were cocked slightly, his lips pursed as though he was just a tiny bit amused. 

She pushed the ever-present desire to kiss him down, and looked at the papers. She pointed at the paragraphs that had caught her attention. 

“This is what I’m interested in. Maybe it has some possibilities for us.” She hoped he would catch her meaning. 

His eyes drifted over the paper, calculating. Pausing, he pulled himself up from her desk, away. She missed his warmth but was curious about his thoughts. 

“Well?” 

“The automatic judgment is to agree with the inspector. That kind of behavior from the dominators is something we don’t see.” 

“But,” Akane didn’t want to bring it up, but she had no other choice. “We have seen it before.”

Ginoza swallowed, and didn’t speak for a while. “Yeah. Your dominator paralyzed Kougami when mine changed to the Lethal Eliminator. I always tried not to think about it very much.” 

“Didn’t something seem wrong about it?” 

“Of course it did,” he snapped. Immediately he softened. 

“Sorry. I just always tried not to think too hard about it. Even now it makes me sick. But I have no idea what was going on. Everything from the beginning of the Makishima case to my demotion is pretty fuzzy. It all kind of blends together. None of it made any sense at all, until, um, recently.” 

She knew what he meant. Now that he knew about the Sibyl System, a lot of muddled details probably made a lot more sense to him. She took it for granted, sometimes, that the way society worked was perfectly clear to her. 

“We need more of this.” 

“More what?” 

“More instances of dominators... malfunctioning.” She chose her words carefully. Sibyl didn’t keep such a close watch on her anymore, but she knew that she was constantly on their radar. Scrutiny was something she needed to avoid more of at all costs, especially now. 

“Yeah, but it’s not our case.” 

“This inspector is new. It’s only natural that the unit leader of Division One should help a new inspector when she has some spare time, right?” She winked at him in spite of herself. This journey was dangerous, and she needed to make it as lighthearted as she could. “We’re going to need Shion’s help.” 

“You told me you weren’t going to Shion again for a few days, right?” Ginoza’s tone was vaguely chastising, and Akane wasn’t sure why. 

“I guess so. This is a different matter though.”

“Sugo could be a big help here, too,” Ginoza ignored the last part of her sentence. “He transferred from Division Two, after all. And he’s out on duty today. This can wait, don’t you think?” 

“What’s with you, Gino?” The nickname slipped out. 

“Don’t call me that in the office,” he hissed quietly. Then, raising his voice to normal, he said, “I am simply a subordinate worried about my superior overextending herself. What’s wrong with that?” 

She didn’t answer. In truth, she hadn’t put much thought into how all of the plans were going to affect Ginoza. So worried about her naturally, the newfound plots couldn’t be helping him at all. Sighing, she softened her face. She should listen to him once in a while.

“You’re right. I’m kind of tired anyway.” 

“Did you have a late night, inspector?” He eyed her playfully. 

“As a matter of fact, I did.” She found herself surprised at the quick changes in his mood. She figured it was a nervous thing. “I’m hungry. Do you want to go get something to eat?” 

“You’re the inspector. You get to make the decisions.” 

She rolled her eyes. Standing up from her chair, she moved towards the door. “Yes, we have breezed through four of Division Two’s reports. They can handle the rest for the day. Let’s go. I feel like going off-site, how about you?” 

“Whatever you want, inspector.”

They walked out the office doors, and Akane felt an almost irresistible urge to hold his hand as they headed to her car. But the eyes of Sibyl were trained on every inch of them, and she knew better to tempt fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chips and Balto are the codenames for the enforcers and inspectors of Division 2.


	3. Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The budding feelings grow stronger between the inspector and enforcer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Psycho-Pass fandom has been filled with angst and pain in the last few days, and all of it is beautiful, but I can't handle it, so I needed to fill the gaps with some fluff before suffering consumes my soul.

They walked close together on their way to the car. Akane was acutely aware of the way Ginoza shortened his stride ever so slightly to match hers, so he could stay by her side as closely as possible. Had he always done that? She couldn’t seem to remember.

Their favorite noodle shop was a little ways toward the edge of town, not so far as to be an inconvenience if they were called suddenly to the field, but enough out of the way that it felt like a small excursion when they went. 

They sat and ordered in a muted, comfortable way. When their dinner came, they ate lazily, eating as they always had before. Only now, something buzzed brightly between them. Although they had been in these chairs, in this place countless times before, it still felt new. Like the continuation of something that should have been expected. Akane didn’t know why she had never expected it, but she hadn’t. 

Her feelings had snuck up on her so carelessly, inching closer to her for so long, that admitting her want, her need for Ginoza didn’t feel strange at all. New, different, perhaps, but not strange. 

“Gino?” 

“Yes?” When he looked at her, his eyes were soft, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. She saw how full of affection his expressions were, and wondered how she had missed it all this time. Surely it had been there, she just hadn’t seen it. 

“You seem happier now.” 

“Now?” 

“Than when you were an inspector, I mean.” 

Ginoza’s smile turned down at the corners. 

“I wasn’t the best inspector, was I?” 

“That’s not what I meant,” she said, embarrassed. 

“It’s true, though. I’m a better enforcer than I ever was an inspector.” 

She rolled her eyes, not truly angry but frustrated.

“I don’t mean it in a bad way, Tsunemori,” he responded to her eye roll seriously. 

“Don’t call me Tsunemori when we’re not at work,” she answered dismissively. 

“Then listen to me, Akane,” he said her name emphatically. She turned her eyes back to him. “I am happier now. I mean, happy might not be the right word, but,” he paused. “I’ve reached a sort of equilibrium with life I never had before. I know what to expect, and I know what’s expected of me. It’s much simpler.” 

Akane sat and thought about it as she ate, watching his eyes flicker with amusement when she slurped a noodle loudly. She had to admit that she believed him. 

“It also helps,” he added, amusement still playing in his eyes, “That I have such an understanding inspector.” 

“What’s there to understand?” 

He was perhaps the least demanding of all enforcers. He was the understanding one as far as she was concerned. He anticipated every move she would make, and as a team they worked together seamlessly. 

“Oh, never mind.” 

A peaceful expression fell over his features, and he rested his chin on his palm, content to watch her finish her food. She flushed under his gaze slightly, but didn’t let it rattle her too much. It felt too natural to truly bother her. 

+++

They left the noodle shop, and it was time for them to go home. As Akane put the car in drive, she realized that she couldn’t bear to take Ginoza back to the tower, not right then. She rerouted the car from the tower to her apartment. He didn’t say anything as they pulled into the garage of her building. He didn’t even seem surprised. They got out of her car and headed towards her flat.

“I need you to go back to the tower, you know,” Ginoza said quietly, as she unlocked the door, but followed her inside without protest. 

“Let’s have some tea first.” The words were said without a look back at him. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she couldn’t bear to leave him, to let him leave.

She punched an order for tea into the automated system, while Ginoza wandered around her large living space, eventually settling on the couch and calling to her in the kitchen. 

“Is it nice that it’s so much bigger?” He asked absently. 

“Some of the time.” She gathered the warm mugs of tea, one in each hand, and made her own way to the living room.

When Akane joined him on her crescent-shaped couch, he took a steaming mug in his hand, blowing on it before sipping carefully. 

“I like it here, and having this much space makes me feel really free. Sometimes it’s a little lonely, though.” 

Ginoza inclined his head slightly, and his eyes drifted to the ashtray on the coffee table. He looked from the ashtray back to Akane, and her heart sunk slightly. 

“You miss him too, don’t you?” She didn’t bother defending herself. Ginoza had known that she carried the cigarettes around for ages. It’s not like it was much of a secret anymore. 

“Of course I do.” Ginoza’s voice drifted to her, quietly pulling her back from her thoughts. She looked up at him, and his eyes focused on a window on the other side of the room. “Smoking is bad for your health, though. You should take better care of yourself.” 

Akane relaxed as she finally realized that Ginoza didn’t resent her attachment to Kougami. He probably understood it better than anyone. Even in this, his concern was for her well-being. It had nothing to do with jealousy. Ever the worrywart, there were some things about Ginoza that hadn’t changed since they had first met. 

“Let’s talk about something else.” 

“Okay.” 

They ran through the small details of their lives, over and over again as they always did. There was no intentionality to their conversation, because it came easy. As they talked, they gradually moved closer to each other, until Akane could feel the heat radiating from her enforcer’s face. It was only then that she realized their voices had dropped to barely more than whispers, their hands shyly ghosting little touches over each other’s, the electricity of the previous night reemerging with just as much strength. 

Finally, someone’s words dropped off, she wasn’t sure whose, and warm silence sat between them. Akane found that she liked the simplicity of it, the mindless comfort of companionship that had built between them in the last few years, coming to fruition in the most natural of ways. 

“Akane,” Ginoza whispered, swallowing, as his gloved hand covered hers entirely, squeezing it lightly. She allowed herself a split-second of awe at his mastery of the prosthetic. It had been long enough, surely, but his touch was so gentle, that if it weren’t for the coolness of the hand, if she didn’t know better, she might not even know it wasn’t real.

“Gino?” She answered, voice equally low. 

“I w-want to kiss you.” It was so vulnerable, a question disguised in a confession.

She didn’t know what to say, so she simply smiled and nodded, somehow knowing that would convey her permission. She shivered at the way he asked without asking, how his warm hand found her cheek and guided her face slowly towards his. 

When their lips met, it felt familiar, like something they had been doing for years. The inspector wondered idly if this is what love was supposed to feel like, and would have stopped to reflect on her easy use of the word ‘love,’ but Ginoza’s body was warm and his touch was light yet needy. 

When she relaxed into his kiss with parted lips a small whimper escaped him, and she felt his cheeks warm with an embarrassment he didn’t have time to indulge as they kept kissing. The small inspector responded with her own soft sounds as they took their time, teeth clacking less often this time. They kissed less hungrily, more patient as they wordlessly shared their desire with each other, letting bloom slowly as their feelings had. 

Akane let her hands run through his hair again, tugging at the hair tie and freeing it from the ponytail. He smiled against her lips with a slight chuckle as his hair fell around both their faces. 

She pulled back no more than half an inch and looked at him.

“What’s so funny?” She wrinkled her nose. 

“You like my hair.” He grinned, and although it was an expression she had rarely seen before, she felt like it belonged to her. She wished she could keep that smile in a jar and carry it with her forever.

Suddenly, she didn’t know why she suddenly felt so embarrassed, but heat flooded her cheeks and she felt herself stammering. 

“I d-don’t know what you mean.”

He didn’t answer, only smiled briefly before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. 

“Gino?” 

“Kisses are nice, but I think I like this the best.” His tone was hushed, his voice shy.

A long time they sat on her couch, breathing slowly, taking in one another’s warmth. They were not completely still, shifted slightly every few moments to find another space to share, sinking deeply into one another’s existence, interlacing fingers, tracing jawlines. It was soft, it was simple. 

Eventually Ginoza untangled himself and gently tugged her down to the couch, and they found themselves on their sides, bodies close as they faced each other.

Ginoza brought his hand up to cup Akane’s cheek. She leaned into the warmth of his palm easily.

He sighed deeply before saying quietly, “Wow.” 

“Wow?” 

“Laying here, with you, it’s even better than I imagined it.” 

He inhaled sharply and his eyes widened, he pulled his hand back. He hadn’t meant to say it, but there it was, out in the open. 

Akane felt her chest tighten, affection winding up inside her light a tight rope, squeezing on her heart as she fell, faster and faster, into whatever pit of feelings this was. 

“Well, I guess now you know.” His eyes darted from place to place, resting anywhere but meeting hers. 

“Gino,” she managed after a minute. “Gino, it’s okay.”

He finally met her gaze and smiled sheepishly. “I’m an idiot, you know.” 

“No, you’re no-” 

He brought his hand back up and put a finger on her lips to shush her. 

“I’m an idiot, but I’m the luckiest idiot in the whole world.” 

“You are not an idiot,” she said calmly. “But, if, by chance, you were an idiot, you would be my idiot.” She smiled at him. 

“Why do you have to be so damned wonderful?” He pushed her bangs out of her eyes, a seriousness glinting in his own, a fire burning inside him, a fire she knew burned warm and steady, just for her. 

“Come on, let’s go to my room.” The words were out of her mouth before she thought about them, but nothing about them surprised her, nor did she wish to take them back. 

“Are you sure? I can stay here, or an inspector on duty can come get me-”

“Gino.” 

His mouth clamped shut. 

She sat up, tugging him up with her. “Please, come with me.” 

They slowly made their way to her room, fingers interlaced, shuffling slowly, for the first time seeming truly out of their comfort zones. Akane could hear Ginoza’s breath catching, and squeezed his hand, hoping to reassure him, to communicate her feelings to him. 

When they got to her room, she turned to him and met his eyes, full of confusion, want, and, if she wasn’t mistaken, raw fear. What he was so afraid of, she could guess easily. Without fail, every person he had come to love and care for had left him. Despite everything she had done to convince him otherwise, Akane couldn’t blame her subordinate, her friend, her partner, for his fear. She could see the way he was trying to reign it in, but his breathing was shallow and she began to worry. 

“Gino.” She placed a hand on his chest, over the top of his heart. 

“Yes?” 

“Let’s lay down and go to sleep.” The firmness in her own voice surprised her. Akane realized that she herself wanted nothing more than to sleep close to him, to bridge the gap between friend and lover, but slowly, surely. That’s what they had been doing all this time, she was sure. 

He looked slightly taken back, but she also saw his tensed shoulders relax, ever so slightly. 

“I’m very tired, inspector.” He gave her a small, sincere smile, and she knew she had said the right thing. 

She took her hand from his chest and swatted at him playfully. “Ew, don’t call me inspector in my bedroom.” 

Ginoza tilted his head back, hair sweeping back over his face as he laughed. He moved forward and hugged her tightly, enveloping her, holding her to his chest. He pushed his nose into her hair and she felt him kiss the top of her head. 

She pulled back and looked at him. “I thought you were sleepy. Um, I’m going to change.” She realized she hadn’t thought that part through. 

“I’ll go lay down,” Ginoza said simply. Removing his shoes and jacket, he slipped under her blankets and turned away from her. She realized he was giving her privacy, whether out of respect or embarrassment, or a little of both, she wasn’t sure. 

She pulled her pajamas out of her dresser and changed into them quickly, before joining him under her blankets. 

“Gino, I’m here,” she pulled on his shoulder lightly, turning him over towards her. His long hair splayed out on her pillows as he rolled over. She reached over and pulled on his tie. 

“You can’t sleep with your tie on, silly.” He hummed as she undid it and tossed it over his side of the bed. 

“You’re right, what was I thinking?” 

“Let’s go to sleep.” She scooted closer to him and wiggled between his arms. They tightened around her lightly. 

“Yes, let’s.”


	4. Almost Believing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akane is reminded that Sibyl always watches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus. This chapter is a little shorter, but I wanted to get back into it. Enjoy!

The next afternoon, Akane stood in Shion's office, palms clammy as she contemplated both the evening spent with Ginoza, as well as the insubordination effort she woke up to the following morning. Both of these things felt right, as though they were inevitable courses her life simply was bound to take, but they were also frightening, in their own way. 

“You seem a little tense, Akane-chan. I have a question you can answer that might ease your mind." 

Akane was momentarily grateful for Shion's concern. "What is it?"

"Ginoza-kun didn’t come back to the tower last night. Would the good inspector have any light to shed on that situation?” 

Akane’s cheeks warmed, gratitude disappearing in the wake of embarrassment, and she was only glad that Shion’s office was so cave-like. She didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything. 

“Don’t be like that, Akane-chan, I’m just teasing!” Shion trilled, tilting her head back to look at the inspector. 

“Anyway, have you found any records in the archives of problems with the dominators?” 

As happy as she was with her new relationship with Ginoza, Akane still wasn't used to it yet. She liked to have time to think things through, mull them over, and the last few days had been filled with so much to think about, she hadn't wrapped her mind around it yet.

"Suit yourself, don't be any fun," Shion waved her hand dismissively and typed a few lines onto a tablet. She had told Akane that the best way around the system was to use as many individual pieces of equipment as possible, to disperse the information made it easier to break down and hide away.

Shion held up her tablet, and Akane responded by pulling up her communication device, where an alert telling her she had received a new file chirped. 

“Thank you,” Akane said gratefully. 

“Anything for my favorite inspector,” Shion winked. “That’s a list of the most recent ones I could find, from the last two years or so. I have a strange feeling that if I go further back, I’ll find more discrepancies. But that’s just a hunch. Now head back to the office and collect yourself before you go to talk to that obnoxious Division Two inspector.” 

None of the enforcers were very keen on the Division Two inspector whose report Akane had edited the previous day. Akane groaned. “I will.” 

Her communicator chirped again. It was Chief Kasei. Surprised, and with a pit forming at the bottom of her stomach, Akane answered.

“This is Tsunemori.” 

“Please come to my office immediately, inspector.” 

Akane gave Shion a sidelong glance as she told the Chief she would be right there. 

“Apparently, the annoying Division Two inspector is the least of my worries.” 

“It’ll be fine,” Shion smiled with such sincerity that Akane almost believed her. 

+++

“What’s this I hear about you enlisting analyst Karanomori to snoop through the archives for records of dominator malfunctions? Surely you know such a thing doesn’t exist.” Chief Kasei’s face was emotionless, as ever. 

“I’m following up on a problem one of the new inspectors recorded in their most recent report. Or did you not receive my completed evaluations?” 

“I don’t know what you’re up to, Inspector Tsunemori, but you needn’t concern yourself with the inner workings of Sibyl’s judgment. That’s better left untouched.” 

“You can’t seem to decide if you want me to know about you or not,” Akane spat, adversarial in spite of her better judgment. 

“Oh? Do explain, inspector.” 

“You want my cooperation, and you inform me anytime my knowledge may suit you, but the moment I want to know something for myself, you withhold that chance from me. It doesn’t make very much logical sense.” 

“Of course it does,” Kasei pulled out a nail file, apparently uninterested. “We calculate the risks and rewards each time we bestow new information upon you, and sometimes, we decide that the risks are too great. We have not forgotten how much you despise us.” The cyborg eyes flicked up from Kasei’s fingernails, a cruel snicker curling into the corners of her cheeks. 

“As a human,” Akane decided to hedge her bets and tell a half-truth. “I have a better chance of understanding why there may be dissension between the various minds in the system. If I am able to find the reasons and pass those along to you, it’s very possible they could be minimized, if not eradicated entirely.” 

“Surely the good inspector can’t be benevolently offering something purely for our good?” 

“I’m going to be under your thumb forever, aren't I? I would relish the chance to understand your flaws. It might help me sleep better at night.” 

Kasei considered this for a moment. 

“All right, inspector. We won’t have you call off analyst Karanomori just yet. But be aware, we will be watching you and her very closely from now on. You may go.” 

+++

“I don’t understand why I need to explain myself to you. You already read the report.” 

Akane was not enjoying her interactions with the young Division Two inspector, Yamazaki Katsu. She knew that her reputation tended to precede herself: between her unconventional investigative style and what appeared to be Kasei’s favoritism for her, it hadn’t been unusual for new inspectors to resent her. 

“I’m just trying to figure out what may have caused the dominators to behave a certain way. Do you want to go out into the field with defective equipment?” 

“But the equipment isn’t defective. Enforcer Hayashi was imagining things and acting out of line.” 

“Inspector Yamazaki, it’s in your best interests not to alienate your enforcers,” Akane’s jaw tightened. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand, it was a complete unwillingness on the part of inspectors to treat their enforcers with respect. 

She knew that most of the time, there would never come a situation where the inspectors would treat enforcers as equals. She could accept that. She could even accept the distrust many inspectors harbored. But to blindly isolate one’s subordinations was not only bad for one’s team, it was cowardly. 

“They’re latent criminals. Then again, I wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand,” the inspector’s tone was haughty, and he looked at Akane with condescension and, if she wasn’t mistaken, pity. 

“At any rate,” Akane ignored both the tone and the look. “Let’s pretend for a moment that your enforcer is telling the truth.” He opened his mouth to protest but she held up a hand. “Just theoretically. This would mean that Sibyl’s judgment was not uniform for a moment, however brief. This is something that needs to be brought to the attention of the managers of the system, so that maintenance can be performed on the malfunctioning entity.” 

Akane had become so well-versed in ways to lie about the system, it disgusted her. Worse yet was the fact that everyone believed her. No matter what she made the system out to be, whether that be a computer network or a judiciary council, no one questioned her. The ignorance was astounding and, frankly, disturbing. 

“I would like your permission to interview your enforcer Hayashi personally, simply to receive his firsthand account of the events.” 

The inspector rolled his eyes dramatically. 

“Inspector,” Akane was done humoring his immature attitude. “I will go over your head and request permission from Chief Kasei if need be, which would probably result in an unfortunate meeting between the two of you. Assuming you would like to steer clear of such a situation, I suggest you do as I ask.” 

“Okay, okay. You can talk to him.” 

“Thank you,” Akane smiled pleasantly, a far cry from the frustration boiling inside of her. “I will do it tomorrow afternoon. If you need to borrow an enforcer because you are called to a case, Kunizuka Yayoi will be happy to fill in.” 

+++

Akane stalked back into her office and sat in her chair rather harder than necessary. 

“Senpai, are you okay?” The junior inspector's was laced with genuine concern, and Akane was grateful for the brief reprieve from their typical dynamic. 

“Oh, yeah,” Akane smiled sheepishly. “It’s just... I appreciate you, Mika. Your willingness to cooperate me even though our opinions differ is not something that some of our colleagues in other divisions share.” 

Akane could see Ginoza’s brow crinkled worriedly in her peripheral vision. 

Mika was taken aback. "O-oh, well, I just believe in respecting one's seniors, that's all." The younger girl turned her nose back into whatever work she was engrossed in, but Akane let a smile hover over her own lips, as she tried to appreciate whatever she could about her team, even Mika.

As she settled into her desk, Akane shot a furtive glance over at Ginoza, whose forehead was stitched with nervous wrinkles. She smiled at him briefly and shook her head slightly, trying to tell him not to worry, knowing, of course, that this would be in vain. He would worry no matter what she did or told him. It was just the way he was. 

When Mika finally stood up to leave for the day, which coincided suspiciously with Yayoi's shift end as well, both Ginoza and Akane waved at them as they exited, leaving the two of them to fend for themselves.

Almost immediately upon the office, Ginoza arose roughly from his seat and hurried to Akane's desk. He leaned against it, their legs brushing lightly against each other, concern radiating from him. 

"Are you alright?" He asked, clearly having been worried over her all day, frustrated that he couldn’t express it sooner.

"Ginoza," she sighed. "I'm fine. It was just a tiring day, that's all."

"I heard you had to go in to see the chief." Akane could see the way the fingers of his organic hand trembled slightly, as though he longed to reach out, to comfort her with more than just concerned eyes. But he knew just as well as she did, propriety was integral to the success of their newfound mission. So their legs brushed, the touch light but warm, new. 

She nodded, trying not to lose herself in a desire to embrace him, to smooth out his furrowed brow with her fingers. 

"She somehow knew I'd been looking into the dominator malfunctions and..." She let her words trail off, heeding the scanners, recorders, the eyes of Sibyl all around them. 

"Say, enforcer?" She gave him a small but genuine smile. "Would it be unkind if I invited myself over for a drink?"

Ginoza’s eyebrows raised. “I could hardly give my inspector a drink without making sure she ate some dinner first. Wouldn’t want you to be sick, after all,” a coy smile played on his lips. “Of course you can come over. I’ll make something to eat.” 

“Well, then, you’re dismissed, enforcer Ginoza. I’ll finish up this report and see you in a little bit.” She gave him the smallest wink possible, and he smiled affectionately, glancing around the room before reaching up to squeeze her shoulder for the slightest moment. 

“Don’t take too long, okay?” He said quietly. 

“I won’t,” she smiled, warmed by his light touch and shy manner. She watched him walk out the door and wondered how she had waited to fall in love with him all this time. 

She let herself almost believe, for a moment, that it would stay warm and simple like this.


	5. No Words Good Enough To Define What We Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit shorter. I thought about adding another scene in, but it seemed like too much. So, enjoy a bit of fluff. The chapter title is from "Words, Hands, Hearts" by Yellowcard.

She made her way back to the enforcer quarters, meeting Yayoi on the way there. 

“Inspector,” Yayoi smiled knowingly. “What a surprise.” Understated, the tiniest hint of a smirk curled into one half of her smile, she moved on past Akane. “Anyway, have a good evening.” 

“You too, Kunizuka-san.” 

She knocked on the door to Ginoza’s enforcer quarters, happy for the chance to spend a little time with him. 

“Come in!” 

Akane walked in the door, the smell of homemade food floating around her. As she inhaled it, a memory, more distant than she would have thought, of Kagari’s smile, flitted by in her memory, and she felt an absent tug of guilt, or fear, in her chest. She pushed the feeling away immediately, let herself soak in the normalcy of cooking, home visits. In that moment, nothing could hurt them. 

Them, that’s right. Not her, not him - _them._

Ginoza smiled up at her. 

“Is something the matter, inspector?” 

She shook her head. “No, nothing at all.” She walked down the steps towards his kitchen. “What are you cooking?” 

“Nothing fancy,” he turned back to his wok. “Just a little stir-fry. Does that sound alright?” 

“That sounds wonderful. Where did you learn to make home-made food?” She unbuttoned her jacket and tossed it on his couch. 

“Kagari left some cookbooks behind, and it seemed like a good way to honor his memory, to learn from them. There’s wine too,” he turned to look behind him at the counter, gestured with an easy shrug to an uncorked bottle of white wine. 

“I believe it’s the kind Kagari used to drink while cooking.”

She reached for the bottle, picked it up with a sort of reverence, let Kagari’s smile flit through her mind once more, ignored the worry that came with it. 

“Do you have a glass, Gino?” 

Ginoza laughed. “Silly me. Of course I do.” He reached into the cupboard and pulled out two wine glasses. “You can pour me some, too.” 

Akane poured two glasses. “You probably shouldn’t start drinking until after you’re done cooking, should you?” 

Ginoza glanced back at her, feigning hurt. “Now what on earth would give you an idea like that?” 

She allowed herself a small smile. “Just some rumors that float around the office. You know, nothing unusual. Just that you don’t exactly handle your alcohol all that well.” 

He turned back to his cooking, shrugged, the easy gestures comforting Akane. She felt at home with his easy smiles and his shrugs. She wished they could stay inside the homey feelings forever, with none of Sibyl’s oppressive hold raging all around them, like a storm their world had long ago accepted as everyday weather. 

“If you insist, I’ll drink my wine with dinner, inspector.” 

“I told you to quit calling me that when we’re alone.” 

If she wasn’t mistaken, she heard a quiet, muted chuckle from him, a sound unheard of from the former inspector Ginoza, but one common, not at all uncommon for enforcer Ginoza. 

He divided the stir-fry, hot and steaming, between two two bowls.

“Please have a seat at the table, if you like,” he invited with a smile. 

She obliged, and allowed him to place a bowl of hot stir-fry in front of her, along with a pair of chopsticks and her wine glass. 

“Anything else I can get you?” 

“No, thank you, Ginoza,” her voice was soft. She wanted him to sit with her, to eat, be still for a bit, take some of the worry out of those shoulders. He retrieved his own bowl and wine glass and sat in across from her.

“As much as I’d like to think so, I can’t imagine this is just a house call. What is it?” He asked before taking his first bite of his meal.

“What? I can’t just want to spend time with you?” Akane started eating her own food instead of answering him.

She wasn’t hurt by his question, but it pulled her out of the veneer of safety she was covering her heart with, dragged her back out into the storm of reality, where dominators could kill and justice was administered by sociopaths. 

“I’m just kidding.” The green eyes were soft. He hadn’t meant to make her defensive. “But, really, what is it? Are you going to tell me about your meeting with Chief Kasei?” 

Akane sighed. She knew he was worried. Honestly, she was worried too. 

“She wanted to know what I was doing having Karanomori looking into dominator malfunctions.” 

“What did you tell her?” Ginoza asked quickly, holding his chopsticks above his food bowl momentarily. 

“I told her I wanted to explore discrepancies within the system.” 

“You told her the truth?” 

Akane didn’t like the fear in Ginoza’s eyes. Concern was standard for him, but fear, she had only seen that a few times since the day Kougami ran. Concern for her safety was a constant spark in his eye, but true fear, that was rare. 

“Not the whole truth,” she said firmly. “I told her I would like a chance to see what their flaws are.” 

The stir-fry was savory and sweet, and she tried to keep Ginoza’s fear, her own trepidation, at bay by thinking of his delicious food, by taking in the domesticity of the moment. 

But Ginoza was afraid, and he wasn’t about to let her get away with that kind of laziness. 

“What makes you think they’re going to accept an answer like that?” 

“Relax, would you?” Akane’s voice grew hard, more biting than she wanted to be. Ginoza cast his eyes down at his plate. 

“I mean,” she backtracked, placing her bowl on the table, chopsticks on top, and reached for Ginoza’s real hand. As she placed hers over the top of his firmly, he looked up at her quickly and then back down at his food. 

“I mean it’s going to be okay. The chief was keen on what I had to say. I made them believe that I’ll help them grow more efficient, help them,” the words tasted like bile on her tongue, “Evolve.” 

Looking back up at her, Ginoza’s eyes went wide. “And just why would they think that?” 

“Because they’ve enlisted my help for them to evolve before.” 

“And you agreed to it?” 

“Gino, it isn’t what you think.” She expected him to break into her sentence, but when she met his eyes, he was waiting. 

“They told me that if I keep fighting against them, that will help them evolve. So they know I’m not on their side, but they know that I see how integral they are to the kind of society we live in now.” She shuddered. “It makes me sick, but if we are really going to pull this off, we have to be ready to accept a whole new paradigm for what society is supposed to look like.” 

“Like Shambala Float?” 

Akane didn’t want to nod, but she did. She didn’t like to think about the possibility of Japan becoming so full of death, that she might be responsible for bringing that kind of terror to her homeland. 

“Hopefully not so violent or volatile. If we can get less corrupt people at the top, it won’t be so riddled with war. But we have to be prepared to accept the consequences of it.” 

She paused, unsure what else to say. 

“I’m prepared for that, Akane.” 

When she met his eyes again, they were hard, set, expressing a loyalty she knew came from love, a loyalty she almost wished he didn’t have, but was there, for better or for worse. 

“Good. There isn’t any room for second-guessing here.” 

“I know.” 

They ate in silence, sipping on their wine, watching the bottle fade with the evening hours. 

A hiccup broke through the warm silence. Akane looked at Ginoza and laughed. 

“You know, I thought Shion was joking about the way you handle your alcohol,” she smiled at him, soft.

His smile back was crooked, not exactly drunk, but not fully sober, either. 

“Shion likes to exaggerate, you should know that b-by now,” his words were measured, like he was concentrating. “Would you like to move to the more comfortable couch, inspector?” 

She rolled her eyes at his use of the honorific, but nodded. “Yes, let’s move.”

Moving to pick up the empty bowls, Akane felt a tug on her shoulder. Looking up, she met Ginoza’s eyes. 

“Leave it. I’ll get that later.” 

With a sigh, the small inspector nodded and followed him over to the couch, much softer and more comfortable than the dining table chairs. They settled in, inches between them, not touching, still new to this closeness, this desire. It wasn’t that it didn’t feel right: Akane knew for certain that this was what she wanted, but she didn’t know how to act, what to do, just yet. Even still, the last few days, their last few encounters, a soft evening spent asleep together, seemed to have earned them a new understanding, a more comfortable dimension to their relationship.

But now, Ginoza was agitated, nervous perhaps, so when the inspector spoke again, she kept her voice gentle, to calm him, to fix it, ease them into comfort. She just wanted him to relax.

“What is it?” 

“I-I, c-can I kiss you again, maybe?” 

She laughed softly, felt her chest tighten, her heart warm, at his request. “No, let me kiss you.”

Cupping his warm cheek, rosy with embarrassment or alcohol - or both - Akane leaned into him, kissed him chastely. It wasn’t as long or lingering as the kisses they had shared before. It was more important that she leaned into him, swung her legs up onto the couch so she could lean into his side. He flinched, and she realized she was on the side of his prosthetic. 

“It’s okay,” she whispered. 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he answered, avoiding her eyes, afraid, ashamed. She wanted to gather all of him in her arms. It hurt to know that, after all this time, he still didn’t feel whole, still felt like something so a part of him, his own arm, could hurt her.

“Oh, Gino, you won’t hurt me. You could never hurt me.” 

She snuggled into his side, even went so far as to reach for his metal hand, tug the ever-present glove off of it, and link fingers with the inorganic material. She felt him take a deep intake of breath. 

“Akane, be careful, I don’t want you to get taught in between the gears.” 

“I won’t,” with the firm tone, she tried to convey a solidness, reciprocate the steadiness he had provided her with all of these past few years, since everything had changed. It was funny, how now, as an enforcer, he was the foundation that he had always wanted to be for her, from the very beginning, even if he wasn’t so good at it as an inspector. 

Akane squeezed the metal hand, knew he couldn’t feel it, but knew he was watching and would appreciate the gesture anyway. Hope welled up inside her, a small, tiny, warm place in her chest. Believing he felt the hope, too, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, released his hand, leaned fully into his side, his head meet hers in a tilt.

“You’re warm. And this is nice.” 

He began to relax into her, finally. “It is, isn’t it?”


	6. God Answers What You Never Prayed For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Division One gets called to the field to respond to a strange hostage situation, and Akane is forced into a vulnerable position.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some excitement! A plot emerges! The sort of OCs in this chapter are really just for the sake of convenience, since the other characters I would insert in here are dead (*sobs*).

Akane drove in from her apartment early the next morning. She hadn’t stayed late, because both she and Ginoza were on the early shift. She wanted to get a start on interviewing the enforcers. 

She went to the office and retrieved Ginoza, whose eyes softened as soon as she said his name to get his attention. 

“Are you ready?” 

He sighed as he stood up. “Yes, let’s go,” he answered. 

+++

“We’re really sorry about what happened in the field, Hayashi-san. Can you tell us about it?”

The enforcer, a young man with short, dark hair and brown eyes with deep circles underneath them, stared down at the table. 

“Why are we still going over this? The lead inspector obviously disagrees with my assessment and I received my mandatory therapy. I was clearly mistaken about the dominator.” 

“Inspector Tendo is very by-the-book in his approach to cases, which I respect,” Akane began sensitively. “I take a slightly different approach to my work, which is why I want to hear what you have to say.” 

She heard Ginoza cough behind her, she had a feeling he was reminding her that she shouldn’t disregard her colleagues in front of an enforcer. She ignored him, feeling no need to hide the truth, and the truth was that she did respect a by-the-book approach. Other inspectors could be insufferable, sure, but she was maintaining a fine level of respect for her colleagues. 

Hayashi raised his eyes and looked, not at Akane, but turned his gaze on Ginoza, as if trying to receive an affirmation that he was safe, that she wasn’t going to use this against him. From her periphery, Akane saw him incline his head slightly, giving the enforcer permission. 

The glume enforcer sighed. “All right. We were in an abolition block near the outskirts of town, so we didn’t have any drone support, which, honestly, is why the situation went the way it did. At least, in my opinion.” He paused. “Anyway, enforcer Kato and I were pursuing the suspect. He was just a kid, I think he was 17. Delinquent. His dad’s a latent criminal. He didn’t have much of a chance.” 

Akane waited patiently as Hayashi’s jaw clenched, before he took a deep breath and continued.

“I guess inspector Yamazaki ordered us to wait for him, but he needs more field training,” Hayashi’s eyes flashed, a tiny smirk curling into his lips. “He’s not very fast, and the kid was getting away. It wasn’t that we were trying to disobey orders, it’s just that I really thought the kid was gonna be under 300, and something could be done for him.” 

“And sure enough, when we cornered him, my dominator said 198.3, and the trigger was unlocked for the Paralyzer mode. But the other enforcer’s dominator changed to the Lethal Eliminator. I yelled at him not to do anything, and he listened. But then Yamazaki showed up and his dominator changed to a Lethal Eliminator, too. I don’t know what the hell was going on, but it seems like if at least one dominator saw the kid as not rehabilitatable, we should’ve taken him into custody and at least tried.” 

There was a subtle shake in his shoulders, his jaw still tight. 

Akane reached across the table and patted his arm lightly. 

“I would have taken him into custody. I’m not your lead inspector, so I don’t get to make the decisions, and inspector Yamazaki is right that you shouldn’t have talked back to him, but I understand your frustration.” 

The enforcer kept his eyes downcast. 

“That was very helpful, Hiyashi-san. We’ll be going now. You can head back to your office for the rest of your shift.” 

He met her eyes briefly as they both stood up. He walked towards the door, made it most of the way out, before turning back suddenly, as if remembering something important.

“Oh, inspector, one more thing.” 

“What is it, Hayashi-san?”

“The directional voice in my dominator seemed different than normal.” 

“Different?” Akane’s heart sped up. This was the kind of evidence she was looking for.

“I mean,” Hayashi paused again. “I was pretty wound up, so this is something I definitely wouldn’t trust my judgment on, but it sounded like the same voice, with a much firmer tone. Like the directional voice didn’t want me to be distracted by the reading of the other dominators. It was strange. But, like I said, I could have been imagining things. That’s what the therapist said, anyway.” 

Akane let this sink in, waved the enforcer off.

“Thank you, Hayashi-san.” 

+++

“There you have it.” 

Akane felt like something had been resolved, that she was receiving the confirmation she needed.

Ginoza walked in step with her, eyeing her carefully. She didn’t like the line his lips were set in, the grave wrinkles in his brow. 

“Have what?” He asked, forcing her to spell it out for him. 

“This is proof. Proof of division within Sibyl.”

Ginoza stopped, tugged on her arm lightly. 

“I think it’s a little too headstrong to call it proof. We have to take everything he said with a grain of salt.” 

“And why is that?” 

His worrying didn’t often get to her, but he was trying to stand in the way of her figuring out how to improve their world, work for freedom.

“Well, for starters, because he is an enforcer.” 

“An enforcer? Like you?” 

She looked away immediately, guilt blooming in her gut. “Sorry, that was out of line.” 

“No,” he touched her shoulder lightly, the warmth fleeting and momentary, but she didn’t miss it, and the way it made her chest tighten. “It wasn’t. That’s exactly why. Enforcers can’t always be trusted, even when they mean well.” 

She looked up at him, wishing the subtle self-doubt he tried very hard to keep from her would disappear. Not that it would be hidden from her, but that she could erase it, that she could show him the value he had, not just in her life, but in all of life. 

“I just think that there’s no corroborating evidence for his story. I’m not saying he isn’t telling the truth, but that there’s nothing concrete. There isn’t actually any physical proof.” 

She knew he was right, but didn’t want to admit it. Just as she opened her mouth to reply, her communicator chirped. Looking down, she saw Mika’s information blinking at her. 

“What is it, inspector Shimotsuki?” 

“Senpai, we’ve been called to the field.” 

Akane flicked her eyes up to meet Ginoza’s, found them as full of questions as hers.

“All of us? Ginoza-san and I are off the shift in ten minutes.” 

“Apparently the warehouse district has been completely taken over by terrorists. Preemptive drone intel suggests at least six hostiles. It reeks of the kind of thing we worked through back before you went to Shambala Float. Remember when you got that stuff from the information broker? It’s like that, except this time we didn’t have intelligence about it ahead of time so we’re on the defensive. I hear they have hostages.” 

Akane took a deep breath and nodded resolutely. “We’ll be right there.” 

“If you both are in okay field equipment, maybe you should just meet us in the garage.” 

Mika sounded tense, almost frightened. 

“Fine. We’ll see you in a minute.”

They turned, walked briskly towards the elevators. 

“Anyway, we’ll have to check in with Shion later on what the enforcer said.” 

Ginoza nodded without replying, clearly glad to be done with the conversation. They entered the elevator and descended to the parking lot. Akane caught his eye and tried to give him a smile before the doors opened. The smile wasn’t as sincere as she wanted it to be, and his in return looked more like a grimace than anything. 

It was their first time in the field since their change in relationship. He had always been so protective. This must be making it worse. Guilt, again, tugged on her heart. She didn’t want to regret it - she didn’t want to second-guess their choice, but as they left the elevator, headed towards the car and the paddy wagon, waving curtly to the rest of their division, she couldn’t help but wonder if all of this was a huge mistake. 

+++ 

The enforcers boarded the paddy wagon silently, everyone scanning what little case material they had on their communicators, so they could conference call once they were all in their vehicles. 

Mika and Akane headed towards their lead car, took their normal places with Akane behind the wheel and Mika reading the case material out loud from the passenger seat. 

“Drones have confirmed sight with six hostiles, possibly two others, with four hostages. All hostiles are confined to a single warehouse, but it’s near the front of the district, and no one can get past them. Drones are currently engaged in a defensive attempt to keep them from moving forward. They are standing by, not making any offensive moves until we arrive at the scene. Our estimated time before arrival is fifteen minutes.” 

They pulled out of the garage, and a new worry wormed its way into Akane’s head. 

“Do they have any visual stills from the hostiles?” 

“Hold on, let me see.” Mika scrolled through the file with her finger until she reached an image. 

Akane switched the car from manual to auto-drive so she could turn to see the image. 

With a sinking feeling, she recognized not the faces of the so-called terrorists, but their clothing. She told herself that combat clothing could come from any of the war-torn countries that were just beyond Japan’s borders, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that they had comes from a familiar place. 

“Is something wrong, senpai?” Mika asked. 

Akane swallowed, set her features as though this were any other mission. 

“The hostage situation is the biggest problem here,” she derailed the conversation with an evasive answer. “Open a line of communication to the paddy wagon so we can discuss our strategy.” 

“Okay.” 

“Can everyone hear me?” Akane watched the enforcers nod, try not to let her gaze rest on Ginoza, the way he looked at the feed, brow scrunched up in worry.

“Once we are on the scene, we will all rendezvous behind the paddy wagon, the biggest defensive wall that we have in this situation. We will arm ourselves with Level B equipment - dominators, and we will split up into our usual teams. Ginoza-san and Kunizuka-san will be with me, and Sugo-san and Hinakawa-kun will accompany inspector Shimotsuki. Does anyone have any suggestions for how we handle the hostage situation?” 

“Senpai -” 

Mika never liked it when Akane opened the strategy up for suggestion from the enforcers. 

“Yes, do you have a suggestion, inspector Shimotsuki?” 

Akane’s tone was sharp. She didn’t need lip from Mika right now. Her head wasn’t clear, her usual compartmentalization was not coming as easily as usual, and she didn’t want to make unilateral decisions. 

“N-no-”

“Inspectors?” 

Yayoi, blessedly, was the one to speak up. Mika wouldn’t have any problems with that. Akane smiled to herself as she recognized the experienced enforcer’s way of backing Akane up by volunteering herself. 

“Yes, Kunizuka-san?” 

“Do you think there’s any possibility of negotiating them?” 

“It isn’t the policy of the MWPSB to negotiate with terrorists, Kunizuka-san.” 

“I know,” her voice was clear over the feed. “Not negotiate like offer them amnesty unconditionally. Negotiate by speaking to them first, just to see what they want. I mean, basically talking with them instead of trying to go in covertly and start taking them down.” 

“What’s your reasoning for that?” 

Akane liked the idea, but she needed to be able to explain it to the higher-ups and make it sound like hers. Mika wasn’t the only one in the PSB with a reluctance for enforcer’s input, so whenever ‘team decisions’ were made, Akane always had to sign off on them. 

“It’s all well and good to go in shooting when it’s a nest full of terrorists, but when there are multiple hostages involved, it seems to disregard their safety.” 

“If they really are just hostages, though, our weapons won’t be harmful to them,” Mika pointed out. 

“Kunizuka-san, do you mind if I step in?” Sugo’s voice sounded next. 

“Not at all.”  

“I think Kunizuka-san is right,” he began. “The only hostage situations this division has ever dealt with have been one-on-one instances, and even then sometimes we haven’t been able to keep the hostage from going over the Crime Coefficient regulation value. With that many hostages, it’s likely that even if they aren’t latent criminals, since the terrorists have firearms, they might be used as leverage or get caught in the crossfire. Isn’t our duty to protect the public? That’s why they call us the PSB, right?” 

“Still, we can’t prioritize four lives over the lives of all those who live in the warehouse district,” Mika’s voice was shrilly. 

“The warehouse district is hardly a residential area,” Akane cut in. “I agree with Sugo-san and Kunizuka-san. We will use a drone to try and communicate with them from behind the paddy wagon.” 

“But senpai, shouldn’t we prepare for a more forceful attack if that doesn’t work?” 

“Yes.” It was a day to meet Mika halfway. 

“We need to find a middle ground here. Inspector Shimotsuki is right. If negotiation doesn’t work, we can’t be a step behind because we wasted our time. My team will stay here, rig up a live feed to look inside while we talk to them, and inspector Shimotsuki’s team will make their way around the back, with as little noise as possible. If things fall through, my team will rush in first, and the other team will flank them from the back, as per our typical battle protocol. Is everyone on board with that?” 

Everyone made sounds of affirmation and turned back to the road, gripping the steering wheel tightly. 

“Good. We’ll be there in five minutes. Everyone get ready.” 

+++ 

After they all climbed out of their vehicles, she set up a relay drone behind the paddy wagon as Mika’s team headed around the back of the warehouse. Akane checked that everyone was set and holding in their positions, then she sent the drone in with a loudspeaker attached to it. It rolled into the warehouse, where the shooting had died down. They watched on the screen behind the paddy wagon. To everyone’s horror, the hostages were lined up near the front of the warehouse by two of the terrorists, both wearing masks, with real firearms pointed at their heads. 

Akane cleared her throat before pushing the speaker button. She couldn’t afford to be squeamish now.

“This is the unit chief of Division One of the Public Safety Bureau. Give up your hostages and surrender peacefully. We don’t want to see anyone get hurt.” 

They saw, on the screen, a third man, without a gun, waltz lazily in front of the hostages, right up to the drone. He spoke slowly, calmly, horribly out of place for the situation. He had shiny dark hair, muted brown eyes, and a strange smile.

“Hello, Inspector. It’s nice to see that you feel like working things out with us.” 

“The only thing we’re working out is your surrender.”

“How quaint.” He was haughty. He sounded like Makishima, Akane realized with a shiver. “We will release the hostages on one condition.” 

“What’s your condition?” 

“That you,” he looked straight into the camera, and Akane felt as though his eyes were actually seeping through her skull. “Unit chief Tsunemori Akane, come into this warehouse, alone, unarmed. You have precisely three minutes to come in here. No drones, no communicator, no recording devices.”

“What do you want with me?” Her voice didn’t shake.

“Oh, we just want to have a little chat.” 

Akane felt her stomach sink heavily, from her periphery, she saw Ginoza go white, and was momentarily glad she had sent Mika to the back of the building. 

“I’ll see you in a few minutes, inspector.” 

With that, he stripped off a coat, and draped it over the top of the drone, so their vision was blocked, and they could no longer see what was going on inside the warehouse. 

Without hesitation, although her fingers were shaking, Akane began to strip off her communicator, set down her dominator, loosen her jacket. 

“Senpai, you can’t possibly be thinking of going along with this?” Mika practically screeched over the other line.

“What choice do we have?” Akane snapped. 

“We could try going in.” 

“Didn’t you see the feed? They have the hostages at gun-point.” 

The sultry voice came back through the feed, still playing sound even if they couldn't see anything. “Two minutes, inspector, or all the hostages die.” 

As Akane straightened her hair, Mika tried once more. 

“I think this is the wrong call, Senpai.” 

“Unfortunately, inspector Shimotsuki, I’m in charge of this operation.” 

Mika said nothing else, and Akane let out a deep breath, only to feel strong hands clasp both of her shoulders. She bristled under the grip, and twisted around, only to be faced with Ginoza’s deathly pale, desperate, horror-stricken face. 

“You can’t,” he whispered. 

Yayoi walked away from them, and Akane silently thanked her, both for respecting her decision and for giving them space. 

“I have to,” she answered, losing herself in the deep green of his eyes. She wondered why they always seemed so much brighter when he was fearful. 

“No, you don’t,” he dropped his hands from his shoulders, lowering them to her forearms. “Please, don’t leave me.”  
 “Gino-” 

The voice cut over her: “Inspector, you have one more minute. I suggest you start walking over now.” 

She cupped Ginoza's cheek for an instant, said nothing, turned, tugged herself out of his grasp, guilt rather than fear gnawing away at her. 

Somehow, she wasn’t worried about dying. There was no way someone would lure a mere inspector in while surrounded by the PSB just to kill them. No, whoever this was, they definitely wanted something else. 

“I’m on my way! Release one of the hostages so I can trust that you’ll keep your word!” 

As she walked towards the grey, decrepit building, a woman ran screaming, her knees dirtied, chest heaving, towards Akane. She made to fall on Akane, but the inspector motioned for her to go back towards the paddy wagon. 

“Get back there, you’ll be safe,” she promised. The woman nodded, tears streaming down her face, and sprinted for the vehicle. 

Akane stuck her head through the door, met the strange man’s gaze. He was not far from the door. The three remaining hostages, two men and one woman, all young, all terrified, looked at her in raw, muted terror. 

“Inspector, I was worried you might not come. That would have been very unfortunate for the men and women inside here.” 

“Let them go, and I’ll come all the way in.” 

She steadied herself against the cold metal of the warehouse, ignored the shaking in her legs. 

The man grinned, far too devious, far too knowing. 

“As you wish.” He turned to the other men and snapped, and they tossed their weapons aside, roughly stood the hostages up from their knees and pushed them towards the door. They pushed past Akane and ran, with all their strength, towards the paddy wagon. Akane stole a glance back and saw Yayoi collecting them, Ginoza looking towards her, clutching his dominator like his life depended on it, or better yet, like her life depended on it. 

She turned back and walked through the door, head held high, shoulders back. If gravity in the midst of turmoil was her strength, she would use it as a shield, where no gun could protect her.

“Who are you? What do you want?” 

“The same thing you do, inspector Tsunemori.” 

He crossed his arms over his chest. The other five men sat down on the ground, like obedient guard dogs. If Akane could have spared more energy, she would have been sickened by it.

“The same thing?” Her teeth clenched. 

“I, too, would like to see Sibyl dismantled.” 

Panic seized her brain. Nobody should know about this. 

“I don’t have a clue what you are talking about.” 

“Oh, please, don’t waste my time. We have a lot of work to do if we’re going to pull this off. I know what analyst Karanomori is working on. I think everyone else is still fooled, but I won’t be mocked by your little farce of wanting to ‘understand us’ better.”

“Us?”

Akane’s eyes grew wide, the air left her lungs, as she suddenly, at once, realized a very disturbing truth. 

“You see, I’m a member of the Sibyl System. My name is Miyamoto Riki, and I want so much more than the system can ever offer me.”  


	7. The Cold Rain Of The Coming Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a point we pass from which we can't return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title and summary are from The Good Left Undone by Rise Against. Many songs from the record The Sufferer and the Witness fit the theme of this fic very well, I think.

“I don’t believe you.” 

She kept her voice steady and even.

“You should never lie to the system, Inspector.” 

She stared at him, hoped she was imagining the vague plasticity of his skin, no, it couldn’t be. This was simply a criminal, so far gone as to think he was Sibyl. 

But how else could he know what Shion was working on? The pit of fear at her stomach threatened to move upwards, into her heart, take her courage hostage. How could that even be possible?

“I can see that you’re still tentative, and although I’m sure I have you convinced, I’ll prove it to you. After all, we don’t have time to waste. Walk over to the door, wave out, and signal your dear enforcer Ginoza,” she didn’t like his use of the word ‘dear,’ because it implied too much, “to slide a dominator in for you. Go on. Yell for him. Surely he’s trembling in fear, and he’ll no doubt be relieved to see your bright face.” 

The sneer was not lost on Akane. Whether that body was real or not, the condescension was clear as day. 

“Can he give me my communicator, too?” It was worth a try.

“No.” Her effort went unrewarded. “We’re not done with our private chat just yet. A dominator, inspector Tsunemori, that’s it.” 

Akane walked towards the door, backwards so as to not turn away from him until she got to the door, stuck her head back out of the warehouse. It only took her a second to find him: Ginoza, alert, dominator at the ready, made to sprint towards her, but she held out a hand to motion for him to stay. His shoulders dropped a bit, but at least he looked relieved to see her. She made a motion for a dominator, and Ginoza retreated behind the paddy wagon, she heard him radio Shimotsuki to get a passcode for the dominator case. After all, enforcers didn’t have access to weapons unless authorized, and excess dominators could be left unsupervised, so she had been forced to put it in the police cart before she had come into the warehouse.

Not long after, the police cart made its way over, released a dominator to her before rolling back to the paddy wagon. She tried for a smile at Ginoza, heart sinking at his worried face. Far as his eyes were from her she could feel them staring at her, silently begging her not to go back into the warehouse. 

But Akane had no other choice, so she turned back inside.

She raised the weapon and pointed it at the man in front of her.

_“Crime Coeffiecient is zero. Trigger will be locked.”_

Surprise no longer greeted her when she faced the criminally asymptomatic. No gasp escaped her, her heart-rate barely increased as she was forced to admit that Miyamoto Riki, if that was even his name, was a member of the Sibyl System, somehow. 

“You see. How else could it be?” 

Pausing, Akane calculated her next move. This was a critical moment in the chess match they were playing with Sibyl, the fight for their freedom and lives.

He could be bait. He could be one of many members who had figured out their plan, or perhaps they had all come a consensus about exposing it, and now they needed a confession.

“What do you want?” Questions were the only safe answer for now. 

“I already told you,” the voice, so lifelike, so hard to believe it was mechanical, dripped with a sultry deviousness that put Akane on guard, reminding her painfully of Kasei, “I want the same thing you do. I want to _help_ you.” 

“That would be benevolent of a criminally asymptomatic sociopath, wouldn’t it?” She spat, unafraid. Although he seemed to feel in charge of the situation, there’s no way he would have staged something this risky if he didn’t need her. She wasn’t expendable, not yet, anyway. 

He laughed. It sent a shiver down Akane’s spine, and she tried to remember if she had ever heard Kasei laugh before. Of course, she could think of no such time, and she imagined that if she had, it would have been equally horrifying.

“Ah, inspector Tsunemori, I can see that this is the beginning of a wonderful partnership.” 

Akane set her gaze firmly on the eyes, which, when she looked very closely, had the most subtle sheen, an aura of unreality, something so easily missed, so quickly passed by, the kind of secret the wind would have to tell you before you would know its truth. She saw a ghost of truth, the twisted sickness of humans-turned-demons-turned-gods, and worst of all, was that she had to go along with him. 

“Miyamoto-san,” she began warily. “I don’t know what on earth makes you think that I want the Sibyl System overthrown. If you’ve been watching me so closely, if you’ve been present at my meetings at the heart of this society’s government, surely you know my loyalties, begrudging though they may be, you should know their sincerity.” 

“But that’s just the thing, Inspector,” he didn’t skip a beat, walked closer to her, narrowing his eyes almost playfully, “like the rest of the system, I too am fascinated by you, have long desired you to be won to our side. I dare even admit that I was one of the few who suggested that we bring you in.” 

Despite herself, Akane let a smirk coat her features. “I’m sure the rest of the system made short work of that suggestion.” 

“It’s true they don’t see your promise the way I do, but it only caused me to watch you more closely. You can’t deny that since Shambala float, you haven’t been the same. And don’t give me that nonsense about your ‘research for our benefit’ you’ve enlisted analyst Karanomori for. Everyone was so easily accepting of it. It was shameful, how they believed you.” 

“This is ridiculous.” 

“You’re holding your cards close to your chest, and that’s quite wise. I like that about you, Tsunemori Akane.” 

She stared him down, said nothing, so he continued on. 

“Your bluff isn’t going to hold without help. You need time to get Kougami Shinya’s men in place.” 

Her shoulders stiffened, as if of their own accord. This was too detailed. 

“Ah,” finally, she had made a mistake, and Miyamoto noticed. “I believe that’s checkmate, Inspector.” 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Oh, but you see I actually do.” 

“Let’s say you are a part of the system. What body are you even in? How can you be away from the system this long?” 

“We aren’t as, how shall I say it, contained, as you might think. Some of us miss our freedom, after all. You know what we tried to do to Makishima Shogo, don’t you?” 

“Join him to the system by force, that’s what Kougami-san deduced, anyway.” 

“Let’s just say Makishima wouldn’t have been the first one to have such a heinous thing done to him.” 

For the first time, Akane sensed a hint of bitterness, a crack of weakness beneath the voyeur, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. 

“So there are more body suits than just Chief Kasei’s?” It was her turn to get information, she wouldn’t let herself be the only one pushed around in this conversation. 

“I can’t be giving up all of Sibyl’s secrets at once, my dear inspector,” he winked, and Akane’s blood ran cold. “But if you must know, yes, it became an agreement after the first few,” he paused, thoughtful, “admissions by force. Some of us were unwilling to take part in the judgment process unless we were given leave time. Thus, a method was created for us to take time to enjoy some time in the streets, if you will.” 

“How often do you get to leave? And how can that work with the judgment process if you can’t all reach a consensus? There can’t be a consensus unless you’re all present.” 

“All in due time, Inspector.” He waved a finger in front of his face. “I can see you’re beginning to believe me, and that’s a good thing, I promise.” 

So she had reached the limit of information. That was fine. She could make due with this little bit. 

“You’ve been gone from your team for too long,” he spoke again when she didn’t. “I’m going to finish this up for us, if you don’t mind me wrapping up our time here, and I’ll evn help wrap up the whole case, to make it easy on you.” 

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t exactly like being told how to run my investigations, Miyamoto-san.” 

“Trust me, you could use some help with this one. It’s my fault, after all. I’m simply making it so you don’t have to clean up my mess. Now, you’re going to walk back out there, call your junior inspector and her team in from around the back of the warehouse, and after they arrive explain that you had to let me go, for whatever reason you like, as long as it’s an easy, superficial answer.” 

“Inspector Shimotsuki will never let me off that hook that easily. She’s quite thorough.” 

“Yes, but she knows about our true form. Use that to your advantage,” he was confident, arrogant. Akane had no problem believing in the perfect sociopathology that would make him an excellent member of Sibyl. 

“I will send you a report that seamlessly explains all the details of this case, how it was handled, what you all did, and, I assure you, it will be flawless, and completely accepted by the system. You will read it over, tweak whatever mistakes you may think you find, and submit it as your own.” 

“I don’t like this.” 

“I don’t particularly care, Inspector.” The haughtiness was palpable. “You need my help, and I’m humble enough to admit I need yours as well.” 

“Humble?” She could have laughed. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.” 

“You are a smart one, aren’t you?” He winked again. “Now go on out there, run along to your team, and I will escape out the back. Just make sure we aren’t followed.” 

“And then what?” Akane had already assented to everything he said, there was no use pretending otherwise. 

“You’ll hear from me soon enough. It was nice chatting with you, inspector Tsunemori.” 

With that, he turned on his heel, the three men sitting on the ground sprang up around him, and they walked to the back of the warehouse. Akane wondered where they would go, how they would get past the scanners, but then, if Miyamoto really was Sibyl, the scanners wouldn’t make much of a difference, would they?

+++

“Tsunemori!” The familiar cry, the ever-present concern laced in Ginoza’s voice, coupled with a sigh of relief, met her as she walked out of the warehouse, hurried back to the paddy wagon.

“Give me my communicator, please,” she didn’t acknowledge him, hoped it wouldn’t hurt, as she held her hand out. Yayoi deposited the wristband in her palm. 

“Inspector Shimotsuki,” Akane spoke through the communicator as she slipped it back on her wrist. 

“Senpai, you’re alright,” Mika sounded relieved. 

“I need you to come to the front of the building.” 

“Do you have the suspect in custody?” 

“That’s not important,” Akane answered, hoping this would cut it. “Now that the hostages have been released, it’s time to return to the office.” 

“Senpai, you can’t be serious.”

“Bring your team back to the front of the warehouse. That’s an order,” she hung up, looked at her enforcers, hoping against hope not to find their utter confusion greeting her. 

Sure enough, Ginoza and Yayoi stared at her, Ginoza’s mouth almost hanging open. 

“I’ll explain everything later,” she said simply. Miyamoto had been right, she admitted to herself. This would be difficult to write a report on.

Yayoi, like the experienced enforcer she was, let that be enough, turned her gaze towards the returning team, as Mika, Sugo, and Hinakawa jogged up to meet them at the paddy wagon. 

“Where is the suspect?” Mika demanded, eyes darting around from the hostages to the warehouse, then laid to rest on her senior inspector.

“The case is closed,” Akane said firmly. “We are free to leave the scene.” 

“Are you at least going to give us some idea of what happened?” Sugo asked, concerned.

Since he had joined them, Sugo had been such a good asset to the division. His quiet compassion had never gone unnoticed. Pulling the trigger on Risa had been a watershed moment for him, a day he had refused to accept his role lying down anymore, a day, strangely, he opened himself up to be more kind. Ginoza had noticed it, Akane recalled. Ginoza needed time, to grieve Risa, but now, so much later, Akane knew he found a solace in Sugo that he never could with Kougami. 

“I mean, you didn’t even come out with a culprit,” Sugo continued, respectful but not willing to be dismissed. “You have to admit that nothing about this is standard.” 

“The dominator reading forced me to let the perpetrator go, so I simply was following orders,” Akane inclined her head to catch Mika’s eye, watched them widen as the same phrase floated through their minds simultaneously: _asymptomatic criminality._ Mika knew as well as Akane, if Sibyl was meant to capture this man, they would do it covertly, not in a full-blown Division One excursion. That had ended so badly before, Sibyl, typical to their claims of evolution, had learned better. 

“A dominator reading?” Yayoi, though, with the resources at hand, sounded stunned, this time unable to let the answer be. “How is it possible that a man holding hostages couldn’t have a high dominator reading? That sounds suspiciously like something we’ve seen before.” 

Akane sighed, hoped that her plea would stem the flow of questions. 

“I am quite exhausted from the experience, but I promise to write the fullest possible report, so that everyone can read the details, and any questions that need to be asked can be. Is everyone okay with that?” 

They all nodded, and she smiled at them. “I am grateful to have such understanding coworkers. Let’s pack up, and send Division Two to process the scene. We need to take the hostages back to the tower and debrief them, make sure they get in for therapy as soon as possible.” 

“All right,” Mika answered. Ever by-the-book, Akane couldn’t help but admire the junior inspector’s resolve. “But I don’t want to leave until Division Two has arrived.” 

“That’s fine. There isn’t enough room in our vehicles to bring the hostages back, so I’ll make sure Division Two sends extra cars along, so that when you head back you can bring them in.” 

Sugo and Yayoi volunteered to stay with Mika, and Akane left them with talking softly to the hostages, awaiting the arrival of Division Two. Akane marveled at how Mika’s voice could get so gentle when comforting someone else. Mika had always been stubborn, but she knew what it was like to be afraid. It was only natural, Akane supposed, that she be good at comforting the frightened. 

The ride back was quiet. Hinakawa asked no questions, as usual, and Ginoza, bristling with an anxious energy so strong Akane may have been able to touch it, was worrying himself into next year, but unwilling to speak in front of Hinakawa. It was better this way, she knew. Hinakawa couldn’t be involved, not in any way. He wasn’t strong enough for this. 

_Would he be strong enough for life without Sibyl?_

The thought came, unbidden, unhelpful, almost painful. It reminded her how many lives, how much stability she was putting in jeopardy. Not only hers, not even just Ginoza’s, if it all fell apart, if thousands of lives were destroyed, the fault would lie with her, and her alone. 

She swallowed, switched the car from auto-drive to manual, giving herself a purpose, a reason to focus, just for the moment, on something other than the whirling thoughts of the present, the future, this danger.

They arrived at the tower a few minutes later, and Akane followed the two enforcers into the building, down the enforcer quarters level. Hinakawa looked surprised, but headed to his space with a stiff nod and a mumbled thanks. Whether he was deliberately ignoring how Akane and Ginoza headed down to the other end of the hallway, she didn’t know.

+++ 

As soon as the door shut behind them, Ginoza turned to Akane, grasped her shoulders in both of his arms, and she realized, for the first time, as she looked up into his pained green eyes, that he was trembling. 

“Ginoza,” she said softly, eased her face in an attempt to comfort him. “Gino... it’s okay. I’m okay.” 

“It’s not my place to question your decisions,” his voice grated, taut with what she recognized as frustration, “but what were you thinking? And what the hell was that all about?” 

“It’s a long story,” she sighed. “Let’s sit down, and I’ll explain everything.” 

They sat, shoulders brushing, Akane felt her heart flutter as their knees bumped, as they shared warmth between them, and she remembered. 

The ordeal had caused her to forget just how overcome she was by her feelings for her enforcer. Her heart ached as she realized just how much agony she had just put him through, and as she realized that she was putting him through even more as she explained the situation.

“So Miyamoto said he would contact me-”

“You’re out of your mind!” Ginoza jumped off the couch, taking his warmth with him. He never interrupted her. 

“This may be our only chance!” She felt her voice raise, against her will. She didn’t want to fight him on this, but he needed to understand. “If Miyamoto has closed in on Karanomori’s activities, who knows how close the rest of the system may be. Maybe they didn’t buy it at all.” 

“I can’t believe you are even considering this.” 

“I’m not considering it, I’ve agreed to it.”   “Has it ever occurred to you that Miyamoto, if he’s even telling you anything remotely close to the truth, is just using you?” 

Ginoza’s face took on a hardness that made her stomach queasy. His feet padded on the ground as he walked back and forth in front of the couch, eyes on her.

“Of course he’s using me. I just never intend to let it get somewhere dangerous.” She paused. “Don’t you want this?”  
 He stopped pacing and stared at her, eyes wide with surprise and, if she wasn’t mistaken, anger. He didn’t speak. 

She knew she shouldn’t push further, but she did anyway.

“Don’t you want to be free?” 

He looked away from her, she noticed his fists clench. She regretted her question immediately. 

“I think you should leave.” 

Akane had crossed a line. She knew it was a mistake, pushing him this much.

“Gino...” she didn’t mean to have upset him this much. 

“I need to think. Please,” he softened, look up from the floor at her, “Go.” 

Akane stood up from the couch, retrieved her things wordlessly, noticing in the back of her mind how unsurprised she was by his reaction. It saddened her, that she had said something like that knowing it would hurt him. She had known, hadn’t she? 

Before heading for the door, Akane walked towards him. His posture didn’t change, shoulders stiff, jaw tight. She stood in front of him, looked at him with a gentleness that came from understanding. Fear was a part of Ginoza, it always had been. Now that he no longer feared for himself, he feared for her. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. His shoulders dropped a little bit, but he didn’t return the gesture. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” 

“You’re off tomorrow,” he said quickly, eyes looking past her, at something on the wall. 

“Can I see you anyway?” Akane wondered how desperate she sounded, if Ginoza would hear the apology in her voice. 

“You’re the inspector. You can do whatever you want. I follow your orders.” 

His words stung, and Akane had her answer. _He didn’t want to see her._ She turned her back on him, walked towards the steps, shoes clicking as she reached the door handle. 

It was her fault, but she wished, fleetingly, that it was still an evening earlier, that the comforting smell of food would greet her, that she was entering, and not leaving, and, most of all, that she was leaving him with a smile shared between them, not this distance, this chasm that had seemed to open up between them, so quickly, so easily.


	8. A Lack Of Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miyamoto continues to plot with Akane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, it's been a bit. Have some more plotting and Shion/Akane brotp. I also updated the rating because there isn't going to be any explicit content, and idk why I had rated it mature in the first place.

Akane's sectional couch was welcoming, as she sank into it after her whirlwind of a day. Ginoza's rejection, the deal with Miyamoto, it was all so much to think about. A cup of tea was ordered from the automated system before Akane settled in with her tablet.

She browsed the news, replied to her messages, her eyes growing heavy. She yawned, contemplating turning in for the night, when a glimmer at the corner of the screen, a notification blinking eagerly, caught her eye. 

“Division One field report?” She whispered aloud to herself. 

Her living room was not warm, so she sat with a blanket across her lap, tablet glowing in her palms. Maybe she should sleep, find reprieve from her troubles for a bit, but her head was abuzz. 

Akane pulled the carton of cigarettes from her purse, stared at them almost longingly. Her desire to light one had faded, and she pulled one from the carton, stared at it in its clean, unlit crispness. She put it back and tossed the carton gingerly onto the living room floor. It clunked against the carpet with a soft thud, and she realized something: 

She had outgrown them. 

Kougami had taught her so much, and she needed his help for this plan, but she had never been so sure of herself. His help would be welcome, but she no longer needed his wisdom to move forward. 

Seeing him in Shambala Float had confirmed all her suspicions. Kougami Shinya was not a bad man. In fact, he was an upright man, devoted to seeking justice and protecting the lives of others. But his justice was very arbitrary, no matter what he told himself or anyone else. Kougami knew he was selfish. Akane knew it too. So did Ginoza. It was an unspoken pact between the three of them, she mused, to go on in spite of Kougami’s betrayal. 

What he had done, the hurt he had caused, how he had left his best friend to bleed to death and his protégée with a broken spirit, none of that could ever be undone. 

She wondered if this deal of hers, this agreement with a professing member of the system, scared Ginoza because of its sheer recklessness. She wondered if he was reminded of Kougami and for that she would understand if he wanted to back out, of their effort and out of their new relationship. 

A hole opened up in her chest as she realized, maybe not for the first time, what a loss that would be. His devotion to her would never waver, she knew, but he was better at drawing boundaries. Why his hue had never recovered she would always wonder. It was better for the system, she thought as anger flared up inside her, muted though it may be. Recovery wasn’t a luxury afforded by inspectors painted black. It would make the system look bad. 

Akane tapped the file with her finger, with a sigh, shaking her head as though to rid herself of the intrusive thoughts, and started to read through this report. It was sent on an encrypted channel, the kind she only knew from Shion. 

As she browsed the file, she had to admit that Miyamoto had been right. It was flawless, certainly the kind of the report the Sibyl System would be pleased with. 

_“There was no need to apprehend or subdue the suspect, since they were willing to talk the situation through with the lead inspector, Tsunemori Akane, on the scene. They apologized for their trouble and agreed to come into the NONA tower if proved necessary. Throughout the conversation their Crime Coefficient slowly decreased, and by the end of the conversation it became apparent their grievance had been resolved. Unemployment and financial instability were the largest factors at play here. I have placed the former suspect on a subsidized housing and food list, and this eased their distress immediately. Attached with the report is a copy of the conversation between myself and the former suspect. Please review at your discretion._

_-Tsunemori Akane, Unit Chief, Division One, MWPSB.”_

In small letters at the bottom of the report, a final note was attached with an encrypted file. 

_-edit as you like before submission, Tsunemori-san. The encrypted file will help you reach me, should you need. -M_

Akane paused to let it sink in, when a second file appeared on the screen. It was an audio file. She clicked it so that it would play, to find that it was an audio attachment of a forged conversation, but as she played it out loud, there was no mistaking her own voice. She wondered how Miyamoto had found the data to piece it together, but it didn’t matter much. 

There was no way he was lying. 

Tomorrow was the day she was supposed to make a second call to Kougami. Maybe there was something Miyamoto could do to stem the flow of information, to divert the resources so she wasn’t endangering Shion so much. 

There was no point in trying to work with her tired, fuzzy mind. She left the encrypted file untouched for the morning, when her head would be clearer and her heart hopefully less distracted. Wrapping the blanket around herself, she made her way to her bedroom.

Akane chose to sleep in her bed rather than on the couch, hoping to feel a bit closer to Ginoza, faraway though he may be. She tried to remember the night they had shared, his soft hair threaded through her fingers. Try as she might though, she couldn’t drive their harsh parting out of her head. When sleep came, eventually, the dreams did, too, more chaotic, concrete this time. 

She dreamed of Kagari’s blood scattered across the room filled with the brains of Sibyl. It was easier to picture since Kamui had died in front of her. Her knees on the cold, unfeeling ground, Akane was surprised as Ginoza ran in, yelling about saving Kagari. 

Though Akane knew all too well what was coming, she screamed at him to get back. Her throat was hoarse as she begged him to shield his eyes from the truth. Sibyl’s voice, ever-present, snickered, a whispered “we warned you” echoing in her head. Kasei followed Ginoza into the room, dominator blooming open, blue light shining eagerly. 

Perhaps she had screamed too much already, because when she reached out to Ginoza, opened her mouth to tell him how much she loved him, no sound came out. She did not move, she did not speak. Like so many other lives before her, his ended with an explosion.

Tears glistened at the corners of her eyes when she sat up, alert and awake. Robotically and without expectation, Akane turned to her alarm clock, to read her psycho-pass report. 

Her hue never wavered, not even in the deepest moments of fear. As she stared at the powder blue reading, clammy palms clutching her bedsheets, Akane wondered how heartless she had to be to watch her lover die and for nothing inside of her to change.

+++ 

When Akane rose early in the morning for her sparring match with her drone partner, she was forced to pick the cigarette case off the ground. She tossed it this time to the couch, tried not to think about the worries that stood before her in the day. Today was the day she was supposed to call Kougami again. They hadn’t exactly matched up their schedules perfectly, since this was her day off. 

She would have to call Shion from home or make up an excuse to come into the office. 

Seeing Ginoza would have been as good of an excuse as any, but he had made it clear that he didn’t want to see her. 

Taking on the drone was a much-needed object for frustration. She didn’t set it to the highest setting, but a difficult one. She knew her soul was not nearly as peaceful as usual because her hits were sloppy. She didn’t fall behind or lag, but the fight was not as seamless as usual. The drone came at her with a sideways jab. Akane blocked it clumsily with her wrist instead of her elbow. Irritated by the drone’s precision and her lazy mistake, Akane aimed for its stomach area as a diversion, and covertly lifted her leg, bringing it down with a swing and kicking the drone’s shins from underneath it. 

She finally stood over the defeated drone, breathing heavily. Akane wiped sweat from her brow, walked to the wall to order a cup of hot coffee from the automated system, and, once her coffee was in hand, plopped down on her couch. 

After regaining her normal breath, Akane picked up her communicator and dialed Shion. 

“Akane-chan?” 

“Shion-san, it’s nice to hear your voice,” even without seeing her face, Akane knew that Shion would always smile at her, no matter what choices Akane made. The analyst believed in her. It was strangely affirming.

“What can I do for Division One’s most impressive inspector?” 

Akane let herself chuckle over the phone line, her heart lifting the slightest bit at the undeserved compliment. 

“Is this a secure line?” 

“Is Kunizuka Yayoi a lesbian? Of course it this line is secure.”

Akane could picture perfectly the smirk that was no doubt coating Shion’s features. 

“Is there any way I could make a call to Kougami-san from my apartment?” 

Shion sighed before answering, probably to let out a drag of cigarette smoke as she thought. 

“I’m not sure if it’s safe, but it could be safer than even this office since it’s further away from the tower. I’ll need to look into it. Shimotsuki’s on duty, so I’ve been left unsupervised with my busywork. I think she’s too busy staring at Yayoi to check in with me.” 

"Does that bother you, Shion-san?" 

The analyst's tinny laugh sounded loud and clear over the line. 

"It's more amusing than anything, inspector. And for our purposes it's quite convenient. I’ll call you back in an hour with a way to contact our former enforcer from your place, if it’s possible.” 

“Thank you, Shion-san.” 

The line clicked off, and Akane rested her head back against the couch, breathing steadily to calm her beating heart. The way plans kept coming together, rapid-fire, one after the other was beyond surreal. 

Once she was calmer, Akane unplugged her tablet from its charger and settled in with the report again. 

After a quick re-read, she scrolled to the bottom, to tap on the encrypted file. Her tablet screen went blank for a moment before opening a chatroom with a preset avatar name. This was unusual, since all the databases recorded one’s avatar to make it transferrable between chatrooms and commufields. The air left her lungs as she read the avatar name. It wasn’t Lemonade Candy. As she clicked the text field to indicate that she would participate in the chat, a notice flew across her tablet screen: 

_Funahara Yuki has entered the chatroom._

Following this, an almost greater unease entered her gut as another chatroom member appeared. 

_Makishima Shogo has entered the chatroom._

Akane was paralyzed, for a moment. Neither name was ever far from her mind. Both Yuki and Makishima was integral parts of who she was today. She dreamed of them both often. Still, she felt ill looking at both usernames. 

She set her jaw and swallowed. Ever the pragmatist, Akane pushed her queasy stomach out of her mind as she saw an indication that someone on the other line was generating text.

MS: That wasn’t so difficult, was it?

It looked like a text message thread on a cell phone or communicator, but it was clearly situated on the internet. She typed on her tablet, and text came from “Yuki Funahara.” 

YF: What is this?  
MS: It’s an old style chatroom, from the days before Sibyl. It’s unmonitored, and the use of avatars named after dead members of society makes them essentially untraceable. While we're here, be careful not to let any other names slip. We can't be too careful.

Akane shuddered. Sibyl didn’t choose their members by mistake. Miyamoto thought of everything.

YF: Where did that recording come from?  
MS: The less you know, the safer it is for everyone involved.  
YF: Everyone?  
MS: Ah, well, you, me, the faithful enforcer, our loving analyst...

Miyamoto was simply reminding her that he had the upper hand, at least for now. 

YF: Okay, okay, I get it.  
MS: My suggestion is to get your former subordinate closer to us.  
YF: That sounds like a trap.  
MS: You don’t have any other choice but to trust me, so I suggest you start doing so sooner rather than later.  
YF: Don’t threaten me. I thought you were different than the other members of Sibyl. 

There was no indication of text generating from the other chatroom member for a few moments. Akane sat back, folding her arms over her chest. She was the one in control, at least for now. 

MS: Fair enough.  
YF: I’m going to submit my report this evening. I saw no reason to change anything.  
MS: It will go through whoever happens to be inhabiting the chief’s body and processed by a team.  
YF: So you work in committees?  
MS: An ordinary human could call them that, I suppose.  
YF: You speak of the system with such reverence. I thought you hated them and wanted out.  
MS: Perhaps you misunderstand my intentions, Funahara-san. 

Even over a screen, where she couldn't hear the words spoken aloud, the name made Akane cringe. 

MS: I don’t hate the system. It simply cannot offer me the freedom that I desire.  
YF: What’s our next step?  
MS: Like I said, we need to get the former enforcer and his men into the country first. You’re working with our tireless analyst to set up a secure communication line in your apartment building, is that right?

Akane was chilled by his knowledge. 

YF: If you know all of this, how has it been kept from the rest of Sibyl?  
MS: I am an expert with what I do. How do you think our analyst was able to find the insubordinate enforcer so easily? I have been watching you very closely, Funahara-san. On that note, I shall be off, and I’ll make sure our computer queen acquires the resources to give you secure access to communication devices from your address. That should do it for now. 

Akane paused, unsure of what to say next. A notice blipped by before she had time to respond. 

_Makishima Shogo has left the chatroom._

No matter what Akane tried to tell herself, she wasn’t as in control as she wanted to be. 

+++

“I think you could even send him a message this way over the communicator if you wanted to, although that leaves more breadcrumbs after it than an audio call so I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m not sure where it came from but after a search through my hacking software, I found something buried I don’t even remember having.” 

Shion didn’t even have to explain it. Akane already knew how it got there. It hadn't been long since the chat with Miyamoto that Shion had called. He worked quickly. 

"It's communication-jamming software, developed by one of those underground groups that avoid street scanners like the plague, no doubt. I can patch it through to your home system over the communicator. This program is amazingly simple, actually. It's a wonder I can't remember where I got it from." 

Akane bit her lip, a hollow pit resting in her stomach. She didn't like keeping things from Shion, but it wasn't the right time. Not now, not over the phone.

"If anyone else were to use it I would caution a rise in their Psycho-Pass. You're what they call a mental beauty, sweetheart, and I know how clear your hue is, but do check in on your Crime Coefficient as you're using it, alright?" 

"Of course," Akane sighed, grateful for Shion's concern. "That seems easy enough. I told Gino once that it's my only real strength."

"That reminds me, Akane-chan, one more thing." 

"What's that?" 

"Did something happen between you and our ever-faithful Ginoza-san?"

"He, um," Akane stumbled for the right explanation, "he didn't like how I handled yesterday's case." 

"Don't take this the wrong way, inspector, but you should clear things up with Ginoza before you talk to Shinya-kun again." 

Shion was right. Though there had never been any romantic feelings between Akane and Kougami, in its own way their relationship had been (and perhaps continued to be) just as blurry as hers was with Ginoza. 

"I'll drop by the tower today, then," Akane answered. 

"Don't bother stopping in on me. Yayoi has the afternoon off, so I'll be a bit busy." 

Akane smiled. Some things never changed, not even in the most unpredictable of times.


	9. Forward To A Place That No One Knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akane reconnects with Kougami after patching things up with Ginoza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been a minute. But here we are, with a bit of plot movement and a new chapter, finally! Thanks if you decided to stick around and wait for this.

Akane could have unlocked it herself, but somehow it felt like a breach of trust, an invasion of privacy. The blurry lines of their relationship were not lost on her, especially with this newfound conflict brewing between them. As always, it was a result of Ginoza and Akane's one area of contention: Akane’s safety. 

Two short raps echoed down the long hallway, signaling Akane's usual method of knocking on Ginoza's door. She shifted anxiously on her feet as she waited. When finally the door opened, it squealed just enough for her to notice. She should call maintenance later. Ginoza would never request a fix for the door on his own. 

Ginoza's green eyes shimmered in the orange light of the enforcer quarter’s hallway. He looked tired and unsurprised to see her. 

“Inspector?” 

A chill settled over her at the honorific. 

“Can you please use my name?” It was more of a plea than anything else. 

"Akane," he paused, letting her name roll on his tongue, the tone a tricky balance between joy and sorrow, "would you like to come in?" He widened to the door and motioned for her to enter. She nodded, trying for a smile, but it couldn't be sincere. 

She tried to keep her tone soft as she descended the stairs into his quarters. 

"I wanted to come see you." 

"I'm glad you did." 

No matter what Ginoza had said the night before, the magnetic pull that drew both of them toward each other was no longer something either of them could ignore. 

She looked down as the stairs clicked under her heels, and saw Dime sitting obediently at the foot of the couch, where Ginoza must have been. A book was tossed aside and a glass sat on the coffee table, condensation running down it. With her sharpened detective's eye, she could tell he had hardly touched it. There was no mistaking the amber color. 

“I shouldn't drink when I’m stressed,” Ginoza said, even from behind noticing the way her eyes fell on the glass. She had barely turned her head in the direction of the glass. Anyone who said Ginoza didn't have a detective's instinct was lying. Akane said nothing in reply. 

“It’s a bad habit. It’s bad for my hue.” 

He settled back onto the couch. Akane didn’t sit next to him, but on a chair, adjacent to the couch. She longed to lean into his warmth, brush kneecaps, like they had in the few days before.

“Are you angry?” She asked. 

He was slow to respond. The air around them was thick, the silence no longer comfortable and warm but cold and unfeeling. 

“I’m scared," he sighed, "I know I’ve sounded confident the last few days but the truth is,” he faltered, a tremulous note caught in his throat, “I’m not. I don’t know if we can do this. I don’t know if it’s okay if we do this.” 

She wanted to reach out, to comfort him, tell him everything would be okay, that they could back off from it now. That she hadn’t meant it, this whole insubordination thing. They could continue sneaking around, skirting the law and kissing in secret forever. She wanted to tell him that they could walk away.

Akane wanted to walk away from it, for his sake. 

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t watch him worry about whether a sip of whiskey would send him back to the isolation facility. Her lover was trapped in a cage. The closest thing she had to a little brother locked away by self-medication. The couple she perhaps admired most was stuck, never able to show public affection or treat each other to the kind of dates she knew Shion would love Yayoi to take her to. 

When she thought of dismantling the system, the enforcers were always the first ones to come to her mind. 

“I can’t read your mind, you know,” Ginoza's voice broke through her thoughts, less shaky than before. “You have to tell me what you’re thinking. I can’t just guess.” 

Akane let her gaze rise from her fidgeting fingers and she met his eyes. His brow was softer, but tension still swam in his green eyes like a deep well of distrust. Not distrust of her, perhaps, but distrust of the future. After all, he had no reason to believe in the future anymore. 

“I’m sick of you living like this.” 

“You can’t just choose to take on the system so I can be free. That’s selfish.” 

“You’re not-”

The words died in her throat as Akane realized what he meant.

“I am, but that’s not what I mean,” he supplied words for her when she paused for too long. “Akane, this is bigger than us. Think of Tokyo. Think of Japan, and all those people who would fall apart without Sibyl.” 

“Just because they haven’t lived on their own before doesn’t mean they couldn’t,” she insisted, not sure if she believed it herself. 

“Some of them aren’t strong enough. You know it’s true. That’s why you haven’t started any of this until now.” 

“I saw what the world was like out there. It was dangerous, violent, scary. But people were free. They weren’t afraid of themselves.” 

As the sentence left her lips, she finally realized what she wanted to liberate people from. It wasn’t fear of punishment or threat, not really. 

At a fundamental level, Sibyl imprisoned everyone in their fear of themselves. 

What lurks under the pool of calm, how to hide one’s secrets just enough, that’s what Sibyl taught its people. Sibyl’s ever-present eyes, the scanners on the streets, the hue checkups that started so early in life, it was all a farce, a fabrication of reality. It all conditioned the citizens to know that deep down, when they lost control, all the blame lied with them. 

It was ingenious, really. Convince the lab rat that the punishment is its own fault, and it will never blame you. It will just keep running around, pained and guilty, doing exactly what you want it to.

Ginoza sighed, and she realized she been caught in her thoughts too long. Akane couldn’t help it, she finally asked, “Can I sit by you?” 

His cheeks seemed to warm ever so slightly. 

“O-of course,” he faltered. 

Akane stood up and moved to the couch, sitting a few inches from him, so he could have the space he needed, even in their closeness. She wanted him to be the one to close the gap. 

When he finally lifted his arm to wrap it around her, her heartbeat accelerated. 

"Why can't this be good enough for you?" He whispered into her hair as he gently kissed the top of her head, hugging her tightly against his side. She didn't need to see his face to know the raw fear that surely was gnawing away inside him, as it always had been.

She sat, unable to answer, felt tears well up in her eyes for the first time since this had all began.

"I want us to be free." 

"But at what cost?" 

A part of Akane knew he was right, but not the part of her that she listened to.

"It's too late to stop," she said truthfully, leaning back far enough to look at Ginoza. "Miyamoto already knows everything, and he will be persistent." 

Ginoza's brow furrowed. 

"If you don't want to be in on this, you don't have to be. I don't want to cause you trouble you don't need. In fact, you would probably be safer if I left you out of it. Perhaps that would be for the best," she tried to say with conviction. 

He sighed, lifted his organic arm from her shoulder to run his fingers through her short hair. She leaned into his touch easily, sighing back at him. 

"I can't very well let you do something so dangerous on your own," he met her eyes, and the familiar guilt twisted in her gut. 

"I'm sorry," she whispered. 

"Don't be," he answered before leaning in to kiss her, softly and gently. 

When she pulled back, she said, "It's going to be okay." 

Ginoza put a finger on her lips. "Let's not make promises we can't keep, alright?" 

His eyes housed deep, green pools of sadness.

Akane swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded. 

They sat, huddled together on the couch, until all the ice in Ginoza's whisky had melted. Akane wished time would stop. 

+++

_"Inspector, it's good to hear from you again."_

_"Kougami-san, how does it look from your end?"_

Akane wasn't sure what she was expecting. Pacing around the empty living room was harder than making a covert call in Shion's office at the tower. Even though it was more dangerous at the tower, she felt so much more alone here in her living room. 

_"Well, surprisingly, we've got quite a few who are willing and able to come in and help you, if that's what you need there."_

_"I need your advice. I don't... I don't exactly know what we're doing here."_

_"What do you mean, inspector?"_

Akane wondered if Miyamoto was listening. Surely he knew that trust couldn't be established immediately. 

_"You have a lot to lose, don't you?"_

Akane thought of Ginoza's smile, the way the corners of his mouth turned up, slightly, when he thought no one was watching as he petted Dime or watered his plants. 

It could never be. She could never forgive herself if she let him rot in the tower for the rest of his life.

_"I have more to gain than I do to lose."_

_"You know, inspector, I received a strange message early this morning."_

_"What was it?"_

_"A detailed list of the unmanned entry points of Japan's border. Do you want to tell me what's going on? Not even Shion could get something like this, not without getting caught."_

It was now or never if Akane was going to tell him. 

_"I... have someone working from the inside."_

_"The inside? Of what?"_

_"The system."_

The sound of Kougami's silence was louder than anything she had ever heard him say, but she waited patiently. Eventually there was a low whistle on the other end of the line. 

_"Say, inspector, are you trying to get yourself killed?"_

_"You know me better than that. I know it could be a trap, but there isn't any other way."_

_"Can we trust this insider?"_

_"I don't trust anyone, Kougami-san. You taught me that well enough."_

It was biting and probably unnecessary, but Akane didn't care. 

He snorted from over the line. 

_"It's like I said, you sure learned how to talk back."_

_"At any rate, how should we go about this? Did you find out if you have anyone interested in the cause?"_

It felt so silly when she called it that, like it was a child's game they were playing. 

_"There are. The hunts by Sibyl outside the borders are rapidly getting worse, and if we can do this successfully, we just might be able to stop it from spreading like the virus it is."_

_"Last time your people snuck in, it ended badly."_

_"I thought that was because you had someone actually scouting the abolition block."_

_"Unfortunately for us, Kasei liked the idea, and has been working on outsourcing the scouting."_

_"Sounds like someone's up for promotion,"_ Kougami chuckled, but Akane could hear the strain in his voice. 

_"I've been working to change the system as much as I can, but it's clear that it's never going to happen."_

_"I'll take a look at the unmanned entry points and talk with my men. I was wary of it since I didn't know where I came from. There's got to be an ideal location for us, in terms of manpower and ease of access. I have to admit, I still don't like this."_

_"Our insider can be trusted to protect his interests."_

_"What happens when we no longer suit his interests? Even if we pull through, there will come a time where we aren't of any use."_

_"I don't know yet. I don't have enough pieces to the puzzle. It's unwinding slowly, but it's coming together."_

_"I never thought you would actually become this reckless. It seems like you're putting a lot on the line here."_

_"Sometimes you have to risk everything in order to gain anything at all."_

_"You sound a little too much like Makishima."_

Akane felt herself smirk at Kougami's veiled jab. 

_"Coming from you, Kougami-san, I consider that a compliment. I will reconnect with you in a few days."_

_"Gino's sure got his hands full with you."_

Akane rolled her eyes, glad for the small reprieve. A memory of the easy laughter in those first days as a junior inspector flitted through her mind, her heart twisting painfully. 

_"Until later, Kougami-san."_

Akane hoped Miyamoto was listening. She wanted to be - or at least feel - on an equal playing field with him as soon as possible. Akane wanted Miyamoto to know that she was perfectly capable of working independently. Even if it was an illusion, she hoped she could play the cards in her favor. Kasei couldn't have been lying when she mentioned that some members suggested bringing her into the system. 

Maybe Miyamoto was on that side of the system. If he was, he would have high regard for her way of thinking. Why else would he have cut a deal with her? 

Most importantly, Akane needed to make sure not to be too trusting. For all of the good she saw in humans, no member of Sibyl could ever act out of anything besides self-interest. 

The criminally asymptomatic were empty shells, hollow except for the things they pretended at making meaning with. 

As she set the communicator down on her living room floor, Akane let herself lay back on the ground. Her couch was only a few steps away, but the hard floor felt oddly welcoming. Maybe it was a sign of the kind of person she was becoming. 

She didn't want to become someone whose way of living was colored by harsh indifference, coldness and calculation, but the more she existed in the world of Sibyl, the harder it was becoming to act with gentleness. 

It was fitting, maybe, that Akane couldn't cry, no matter how she wished that she could sob like she used to do when she would think about Yuki. It was like the system was making its way inside of her and eating her from the inside out. 

About to start a war, Akane was trying to keep her heart from becoming stone.


End file.
